roles, identity, socialization, and conflict: the

Roles, Identity, Socialization, and Conflict 1

ROLES, IDENTITY, SOCIALIZATION, AND CONFLICT: THE TRANSITION FROM

MUSIC STUDENT TO MUSIC TEACHER (A LITERATURE REVIEW)

Prepared by

John W. Scheib, ASPA Facilitator

On behalf of

Society for Music Teacher Education (SMTE) Areas of Strategic Planning and Action (ASPA)

on Music Teacher Socialization in the Pre-service Years

Phase II of Action Plan January 2007

Contributing Authors

Kristen Albert West Chester University of PA Warren Haston Georgia State University Daniel Hellman Anna Maria College Ryan Hourigan Ball State University Peter Miksza Indiana University Michael W. Moore Bob Jones University John W. Scheib Ball State University


Table of Contents I. The Socialization of Undergraduates in Higher Education . . . . . . . . 3

Warren Haston & Ryan Hourigan II. The Role of Reflective Practice in Constructing a

Music Teacher Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Michael W. Moore & Kristen A. Albert

III. Impediments to the Development of the Music Teacher:

Impact of the Social Context in the Music School on the Emerging Identity of Future Music Educators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Daniel Hellman

IV. Musician/Performer Role Conflict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Peter Miksza V. School Personnel Role-Related Tension & Job Satisfaction . . . . . . . 50

John W. Scheib


The Socialization of Undergraduates in Higher Education

Warren Haston & Ryan Hourigan

A senior undergraduate music education major recently said, “My friend and I used to stay up at night talking on the phone about guys and things like that. Now we talk about our lesson plans or whether or not a lesson went well!” Since we encourage these out-of-class interactions, and hope they are occurring, this statement seemed at first innocuous. Upon reflection, however, one must wonder about the larger context the statement represents. The larger context of becoming a teacher, transitioning—acts, thought processes, interactions with peers—from student to teacher, thinking and feeling like a teacher. Does this happen in the undergraduate preservice years? Is it some ephemeral moment? Is it a process that perhaps never ends? What influences this socialization of preservice music teachers? How much influence do undergraduate music education professors, ensemble directors, or studio teachers have? These queries prompted the following review of literature that investigated the socialization process and role identity of preservice music education undergraduates. As with many other areas of educational research, there is significantly more work completed in general education than music education. The review below includes relevant general education research as well as the limited amount of research that is specific to preservice undergraduate music education students. Research indicates that music education students are actively developing role identities through socialization during preservice years. Teacher identities are compared to performer identities: the need to practice, receive feedback, emulate a model and be directly responsible for the level of success for each lesson (Conkling, 2003); and the notion that the goal of the teacher is to simply facilitate and organize fun learning as opposed to design and deliver information (Campbell, 1999). Qualitative approaches utilizing videotaping (Broyles, 1997), portfolios (Mitchell, 1997), questionnaires and interviews (Ferguson, 2003; Berg, 2004) aided preservice music education students in the process of viewing oneself as a teacher and understanding the importance of remaining unbiased (comparing to preconceived notions of music teaching gleaned through year of apprenticeship of observation) and considering multiple perspectives as a teacher. Berg (2004) discovered that second-career teachers are more adept at functioning in a professional setting, but still experience the same socialization process as first-career music teachers.


In the research area of higher education much of the research available examines curricula (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005; Margolis, 2001; Kain, 1999), institutional conditions that foster socialization in professional programs (Kuh et. al, 2005) and cultural and socioeconomic issues that may hinder students from success college programs (Zeichner & Hoeft, 1996). It is hoped that by reviewing this literature music teachers educators will understand the nuances of the socialization process in higher education. Research on Socialization and Role Development in Music Teacher Education

Berg (2004) took a unique approach to the investigation of music teacher socialization. She investigated the socialization process of second-career music teachers—teachers who left an unrelated profession to become a music teacher. Two teachers, both with significant non-teaching work experience and children of their own, agreed to share their experiences for their first year of teaching via interviews, monthly e-mail journals, and observations. Berg coded the data and drew the following conclusions. Both participants drew upon first-career experience to establish positive relationships and work with colleagues, and communicate with colleagues, parents, and administrators, as well as multitask and work under deadlines/timelines. Both participants felt rewarded as teachers, but recognized the lower social status given to teachers than their prior professions. Berg reported that the participants experienced many of the same difficulties of first-career new music teachers, but were more willing to seek out mentors. This line of research by Berg could inform music teacher socialization research from a different perspective and inform in ways that might not otherwise be considered.

Conkling (2003) used qualitative methodologies to observe the reflective practices of seven preservice music teachers involved in a Professional Development School. She employed observation, analysis of participants’ electronic journals, and unstructured interviews to explore the reflective thinking of the preservice teachers. All participants compared learning to teach with learning to perform, requiring influential models, useful feedback, rehearsal strategies (rehearsing teaching of a lesson), and resulting in ownership of and responsibility for progress. Influential models continued to be, as prior research indicated, secondary school and university ensemble directors and university applied teachers. Feedback was provided by the researcher, but the participants valued peer feedback as much or more than the researcher’s. Participants recognized the value and necessity of practicing teaching a lesson just as they learned to practice performing music. The preservice teachers reported a strong sense of pride and accomplishment having been directly responsible for their growth through reflective practices. Conkling


points out that teaching identities begin to form long before student teaching and even preservice teaching experiences. The process of forming an individual teaching identity is inseparable from the social aspect of peer interaction and growth. Conkling suggests that finding ways to teach reflective practice in the undergraduate program can be a significant contributor to the process of developing a teacher identity.

Ferguson (2003) used the setting of a University String Project to conduct research. Participants were four undergraduate string education majors who volunteered and taught weekly group lessons to underprivileged school-aged children (the mission of the String Project), ranging from beginners to advanced players. The study lasted 12 weeks. Ferguson compiled a multiple case study record using interviews and observations. Her aim was to discover how participation in the String Project, a specific type of early field experience, influenced their understanding of what it meant to become a teacher. Ferguson reported that students’ reactions to and feelings about the teaching environment, which have a direct impact on learning to become a teacher, were filtered through their personal histories: a participant who had only experienced small group lessons in school was unsettled by the size of the large groups, while another participant who had only experienced large group lessons was comfortable in the large group lessons and uncomfortable in the small group lessons. Participants recognized the importance and value of feedback about their teaching. Participants reported that the opportunities to test and try out new strategies against their individual perceptions allowed them to recognize the bias they brought to each situation, and the importance of considering multiple perspectives while learning to become a teacher.

In a study with similar methods and outcomes, Campbell (1999) used collaborative ethnography to examine the dispositions of 43 undergraduate music students as they embarked in cohorts of three to four on their first formal field experience, teaching elementary general music once per week. Participants were responsible for designing and implementing lessons, with feedback from the researcher and their peers. Campbell’s focus was the examination of the processes by which participants began to combine theory and practice. He was interested in how prospective music teachers become effective, knowledgeable, or acquire teacher dispositions. Like Conkling (2003) above, Campbell found that participants’ teacher identities were strongly influenced by their secondary school experiences, almost always emphasizing performance. They saw themselves more as “directors” and “givers of information and modelers of skills.” Images of themselves as constructors of musical knowledge were absent from their comments. Participants found their revised ideas of what it meant to be a teacher at odds with their preconceived notions. They anticipated concentrating on being friendly


and making sure kids had fun with music, reflecting their perspectives of their secondary music teachers. What they found themselves doing instead was beginning to understand the complexities of the profession. Campbell stressed that not enough attention is paid to the process of becoming a teacher as opposed to the final product, and that teacher educators should exert greater effort to help potential teachers navigate the process of developing a teacher disposition.

Broyles (1997) studied 12 undergraduate music education majors at one of eight universities during their student teaching. This research also included eight university supervisors and 20 cooperating music teachers. The focus of this study was the effectiveness of videotape analysis on the role development of student teachers in music. Data included participant questionnaires, observation instruments (completed by student teachers while watching themselves teach on videotape), journals, and questionnaires completed by the cooperating teachers. Broyles found that role development was evident as a result of videotape analysis during student teaching. Findings suggested that videotape analysis highlighted music majors’ focus on student learning. Student teachers also found great value in the use of videotape analysis of teaching. University supervisors reported strengthened identity as a result of this process and were encouraged to see increased commitment by the student teachers in refining their skills as music teachers.

Mitchell (1997) discovered a lack of reflection and role identity in undergraduate music teacher education. She utilized portfolios during two semesters of a senior-level music education course. Students were required to include a cover page, résumé, statement of philosophy, and narrative statement. All other materials were at the discretion of the students, provided the materials demonstrated growth as a teacher. Mitchell did not indicate the number of students that participated, but did report that feedback from students and colleagues about the process of compiling a portfolio led to the implementation of program-long portfolios. As a result, students reflected upon their teaching and learning more often and more critically, and thought more about what it meant to them to be a teacher. Students were able to assess their own learning and objectively report on the development of their teacher identities.

Robbins (1993) research was motivated by the desire to reform her methods teaching in an effort to consider students’ individual needs and perspectives. Robbins wrote succinctly about the prescriptive nature of most undergraduate pedagogy and methods courses, attempting to give students a set of procedures and standard answers that fit all situations. Using qualitative methods—journaling and case studies—Robbins sought to understand her students’ thought processes and reactions as they participated in field experiences during an undergraduate general music methods course. Her aim was to rethink teacher education, which she


accomplished. Gaining new knowledge about her students, Robbins claims the process had a powerful effect on her own teaching. By way of helping undergraduates sort out the complexities of what it means to become a teacher, Robbins’ own teaching was transformed, further demonstrating to her students the fluid nature of what it means to be a teacher.

Research on Professional Socialization in Higher Education Much of the research in higher education focuses on curriculum models and their components. Pascarella, E. T., and Terenzini, P. T. (2005) offer and extensive and comprehensive handbook of literature relating to impact theories and college models relating to the effects of college on students. Categories of related research include: (a) College impact theory; (b) Post secondary learning and cognitive development; (c) Theories on personal growth and change; (d) Socioeconomic attachment; and (e) Long tern effects of college on the quality of life. The authors recommend that educators in higher education should consider these components when developing curricula and understanding campus life.

Kain (1999) examined the professional socialization of undergraduates through a research based-cumulative curriculum. Kain studied the curriculum of 40 colleges and universities nationally to determine the types of offerings and how developing research skills aids in the socialization and professional development of undergraduates. Kain recommends that colleges curricula should be built around the following components: (a) Include research components to build professional imagination; (b) Blur the division between the classroom and the outside world; (c) Offer a capstone course that allows the students to work on projects that interest them in their field. The author advocates that a strong professional curriculum is cumulative, systematic and consistent. Texts Concerning Socialization in Higher Education Zeichner and Hoeft (1996) address issues of preservice teacher socialization for cultural diversity. This is an extensive literature review highlighting research in the following areas: (a) Increasing self-knowledge; (b) Increasing cultural knowledge; (c) Using case-based models for instruction and (d) Increase the number for community and field-based experiences for students. The authors suggest further research in the aforementioned areas and challenge institutions to provide more incentives for teacher educators to examine and write about their work in preparing teachers for the field. In addition the authors suggest looking to other countries for models in teacher preparation and socialization before they enter the field.


Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, and Whitt (2005) documented research into institutional conditions that are important to student development in higher education. The purpose of this documentation is to highlight noteworthy performance practices of colleges and universities. Recommendations include: (a) A clear focused educational mission; (b) High standards for student performance; (c) Support for students in all aspects of student life; (d) An emphasis on the first year of study; (e) Respect for diversity; (f) Active learning; (g) Quality assessment and feedback; and (h) Student collaboration.

Margolis (2001) provides a collection of chapters in a book entitled: The Hidden Curriculum in Higher Education. The purpose of this book is to explore how the pedagogical practices of higher education inform and socialize students. All of the chapters are research informed and include the following titles in regards to undergraduate teaching: (a) “Peekaboo: Hiding and Outing the Curriculum; (b) Hiding in Plain Sight; and (c) The Reproduction of Social Stratification in Professional School Settings. This book covers the undergraduate experience as well as the graduate experience in higher education. Suggestions for Teaching Practice Research suggests that music teacher socialization and role development begins early for undergraduate music education majors (Mitchell, 1997; Campbell, 1999; Conkling, 2003; Ferguson, 2003). Music teacher educators have found different methods to foster this development within music teacher education classes. However, research suggests that student reflection, instructor feedback during teaching experiences, and attention to the types of fieldwork experiences encourage the socialization of music education students (Broyles, 1997; Mitchell, 1997; Conkling, 2003; Ferguson, 2003). Research also suggests that methods courses must pay attention to the individual socialization needs of our students (Robbins, 1993; Campbell, 1999). Within the realm of higher education much of the focus on socialization is through curriculum. Research in higher education suggests that a curriculum must have the following components to promote strong socialization within a given area: (a) research as a component to encourage imagination and discovery (Kain, 1999); (b) a blurred series of coursework between the classroom and the outside world (Kain, 1999); (c) attention to the first year of collegiate study (Kuh et. al, 2005); and (d) attention to diversity and socioeconomic influences (Zeichner & Hoeft, 1996; Kuh, et. al, 2005; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Music teacher educators and curriculum designers will strengthen their own curricula by attending to these items.


Suggestions for Research As indicated in the review, socialization of music teachers likely begins during secondary school through years of apprenticeship of observation. This process continues during undergraduate study with ensemble directors, applied teachers, and music education professors. As suggested by Campbell (1999), more attention must be paid to the process of developing a teacher disposition. We must acknowledge, and help preservice teachers acknowledge, their preconceived notions about teachings. Useful research will likely not happen until music teacher education programs are designed to recognize the advantage of this as a starting point and help students see beyond their ephemeral and superficial concepts of teaching from strictly a student’s perspective. If programs are designed to aid the process of role identity and socialization from the first semester through student teaching, the qualitative methods reviewed here could be even more successful in determining the effectiveness of the teacher preparation program, and allow reflection for improving curricula to facilitate the transition from student to teacher. References Berg, M. (2004). An Investigation of second-career music teaching.

Journal of Music Teacher Education, 14(1), 10-19. Broyles, J. W. (1997). Effects of videotape analysis on role development of

student teachers in music. Doctoral Dissertation, The University of Oklahoma.

Campbell, M. (1999). Learning to teach music: A Collaborative ethnography. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 139, 12-36.

Conkling, S. (2003). Uncovering preservice music teachers’ reflective thinking: Making sense of learning to teach. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 155, 11-23.

Ferguson, K. (2003). Becoming a string teacher. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 157, 38-48.

Kain, E. L. (1999). Building the sociological imagination through a cumulative curriculum: Professional socialization in sociology. Teaching Sociology, 27(p. 1-16)

Kuh, G.D., Kinzie, J., Schuh, J. H., & Whitt, E.J. (2005). Student success in college: Creating conditions that matter. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Margolis, E. (2001). The hidden curriculum in higher education. Independence KY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

Mitchell, B. S. (1997). Using portfolios in undergraduate music education. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 7(1), 23-27.

Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (2005). How college affects students: A Third decade of research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.


Prescesky, R. E. (1999). A study of preservice music education students: Their struggle to establish a professional identity. Doctoral Dissertation, McGill University.

Robbins, J. (1993). Preparing students to think like teachers: Relocating our teacher education perspective. The quarterly journal of music teaching and learning, IV(1), 45-51.

Wolfgang, R. (1990). Early field experience in Music Education: A study of teacher role socialization.” Doctoral Dissertation, University of Oregon.

Zeichner, K. M. & Hoeft, K. (1996). Teacher socialization for cultural diversity. In J. Sikula (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Teacher Education (2nd ed.) (pp. 525-547). New York: Macmillian.


The Role of Reflective Practice in Constructing a Music Teacher Identity

Michael W. Moore & Kristen A. Albert

The transition from music student to music teacher does not happen automatically; rather, it requires a concerted effort on the part of the faculty to change the students’ perceptions of themselves (Beynon, 1998; Woodford, 2002). Moreover, the dual nature of a musician’s role as performer and teacher may complicate the transition for undergraduate music education majors (Dolloff, 1999; Mark, 1998; Prescesky, 1997; Roberts, 1991).

Several researchers (Freese, 1999; Korthagen & Russell, 1999; Woodford, 2002; Zulich, Bean, & Herrick, 1992) suggest that developing candidates’ reflective skills is essential for facilitating the transition from student to teacher. Rodgers (2002) maintains that Dewey’s original conception of reflection has suffered a loss of meaning due to over-generalization and that it is difficult to evaluate reflective skills without a clear sense of what reflection, reflective practice, or reflective learning looks like. Based on the work of Dewey (1933), Schöen (1983), and Loughran (1994), Freese (1999) defines reflection “as the process of making sense of one’s experiences by deliberately and actively examining one’s thoughts and actions to arrive at new ways of understanding oneself as a teacher” (p. 898).

Preservice teachers, however, may fail to value reflection and reflective practice until confronted with a challenge or a problem in a teaching situation (Barry, 1994; Zielinski & Preston, 1992). King and Kitchener (1994, cited in Huba & Freed, 2002) posit that candidates progress through “seven stages of intellectual development from ‘pre-reflective’ thinking to ‘quasi-reflective’ thinking to ‘reflective thinking’” (p. 213). Candidates in Stage One do not see a need to reflect; they report what they see and assume that what they have seen is true, that others would agree, and thus that there is no further need for explanation. By Stage Seven, however, candidates see the need for justification, understanding that others might see the same situation differently.

According to Kraus and Butler (2000), a preservice teacher’s reflective disposition “must be fostered over a period of time and in a variety of situations.” Dewey’s work also points to the need for reflection to happen in a community, in interaction with others (Rodgers, 2002). Some propose that this process begin with a critical examination of the preservice teacher’s assumptions regarding teaching and learning (Adler, 1990; Dolloff, 1999; Zulich, Bean, & Herrick, 1992). Korthagen and Russell


(1999) suggest beginning with early, extended field-based experiences, thereby providing the preservice teacher with immediate opportunities to problematize and reflect on various teaching situations with guidance from a mentor/supervisor.

A number of researchers (Bolin, Khramtsova, & Saarnio, 2005; Carter, 1998; Gordinier, Moberly, & Conway, 2004; Freese, 1999; Kraus & Butler, 2000; Ross, 1989; Zulich, Bean, & Herrick, 1992) have addressed the role of reflective writing assignments (e.g., autobiography, dialogue journals, and theory-to-practice papers) in facilitating a preservice teacher’s professional growth process. Huba and Freed (2000) cite developmental e-portfolio processes as beneficial to reflection. By engaging in reflective practice through e-portfolios, candidates can develop a view of themselves as learners, understand more deeply what they have and have not learned, develop a sense of learning as an ongoing process, develop a better understanding of how they learn and what they value, and see relationships among courses and in- and out-of-class learning experiences. Several other researchers (Galvez-Martin & Bowman, 1998; Greene & Campbell, 1993; Norton, 1994; Ross, 1990; Woodford, 2002) have emphasized the importance of providing guided practice, specific feedback, and modeling to assist the preservice teacher in developing reflective skills.

The traditional application-of-theory approach to teacher preparation may actually exacerbate the difficulty of music teacher identity construction for preservice music teachers by failing to provide adequate opportunities to reflect on and in real life teaching situations (Adler, 1990; Korthagen & Russell, 1999; Roberts, 1991; Woodford, 2002). Music teacher preparation programs modeled after the Holmes Group Professional Development School concept incorporate reflective practice as a central component of the curriculum/practicum (e.g., Freese, 1999; Henry, 2001; Townsend, 2000) and therefore may hold promise regarding the problem of music teacher identity construction.

Though the efficacy of employing a reflective approach to teacher identity construction has been suggested in the teacher preparation research and opinion literature, it has yet to be directly substantiated through research in music teacher identity construction. The following questions may serve to guide researchers as they continue to explore and further define the relationship between reflective practice and music teacher identity construction.

• What characteristics are associated with candidates who display evidence of “teacher identity?” What are the characteristics of candidates who have achieved success in developing this identity?

• Does the pedagogical approach (e.g., traditional vs. reflective) of a music teacher preparation program affect the way undergraduate music education students view themselves


professionally? How much of candidate learning can be attributed to pedagogical approach?

• How can directed/facilitated reflection within a community affect the construction of music teacher identity? What specific reflective strategies might best support the construction of a music teacher identity?

• In what pedagogical contexts of reflection have changes been observed? To what can these changes be attributed?

Annotated Bibliography Organized by the following topics:

• Identity Construction • Preservice Teacher Development and Stages of Concern • Reflective Practice in Preservice Teacher Preparation Programs • Strategies for Promoting Reflective Practice among Preservice

Teachers o Reflective Journaling o Portfolios o Assessment of Student Reflections

Identity Construction Beynon, C. (1998). From music student to music teacher: Negotiating an

identity. In P. Woodford (Ed.), Critical thinking in music: Theory and practice [Monograph]. Studies in Music from the University of Western Ontario, 17 (pp. 83-105).

• Unable to locate

• According to Woodford (2002), Beynon took a proactive stance to

guiding preservice teachers in developing their sense of professional identity through dialogical interviews (Woodford, p. 687).

Dolloff, L. A. (1999). Imagining ourselves as teachers: The development of

teacher identity in music teacher education. Music Education Research, 1(2), 191-207.

• Music education methods courses typically do not address the issue

of teacher role identity development. Dolloff suggests three strategies for uncovering preservice teachers’ images of teachers and teaching: personal history/biography, using visual image metaphors, and drawing.


• Personal history/bio: “Giving students an opportunity to make their experience explicit allows students to reflect on what they believe about teaching” (p. 193).

• According to Knowles (1992), preservice teachers construct their

teacher identity based on observation of other teachers and their own teaching experiences.

• Often preservice teachers’ images of teachers are based on a

private studio teacher. This image may be inappropriate for what is required of a classroom teacher. “This means that their image of the music teacher, and the teaching-learning interaction, is based on a model that will not necessarily work in the multi-student classroom” (p. 205).

• “When new teachers are faced with classroom realities they

frequently shed their ‘new and improved’ models of teaching for those which are based on their experience as students. This frequently occurs in setting of peer teaching as well…. I maintain that the discrepancy comes not from an unwillingness to experiment with new techniques, but from the newness of the teacher image as compared with the strong images of teaching and learning encountered in their own music education. In other words, they are teaching as they were taught. The new strategy is at odds with their memories of what a teacher ‘does’” (p. 203-204, emphasis added).

Mark, D. (1998). The music teacher’s dilemma: Musician or teacher?

International Journal of Music Education, 32, 3-22.

• Mark reports on studies of Austrian music schools and the problem of preparing music teachers for the European labor market. Data was collected through interviews of approximately 400 musicians, professors, students, and graduates.

• Preservice music teachers may face a unique challenge in

constructing a professional identity. Mark cites Abel-Struth (1985, p. 428): “‘The specific tension between science and teaching, which complicates the teacher’s role in general, is deepened in the case of the music teacher by the artistic claims and the multidimensional scientific aspects.’ In addition, the understanding of the professional role of music teachers is somehow underdeveloped ‘because it is burdened with expectations of a number of contradictory social


and professional reference groups in the arts, sciences and pedagogical streams’” (p. 4).

• In the programs studied, the emphasis on developing musicianship

was relatively great compared to the pedagogical components of the programs. This has led to a state of Praxisschock among some first-year teachers, which is “aggravated by the weight put on the musical artistic training by the teaching staff. The confrontation with the job reality often produces a kind of stress situation and frustration and many students do not feel well enough prepared for this step” (p. 13).

Prescesky, R. E. (1997). A study of preservice music education students:

Their struggle to establish a professional identity (Doctoral dissertation, McGill University, 1997). Dissertation Abstracts International, 59(08A), 2898.

• Used autobiography and journal entries to explore identity

construction of four music education students. • From the DIA abstract (pp. 2898-2899):

o “Participants’ perceptions of their ‘selves’ were rooted in childhood memories and models of practice.”

o “Participants who viewed self-as-performer encountered conflict between their identities as musician and as educator.”

o “Other participants constructed images of self-as-participants. As such, they experienced a sense of unity and resonance between their identities as musicians and as educators.”

Roberts, B. A. (1991). Music teacher education as identity construction.

International Journal of Music Education, 18, 30-39.

• Roberts addresses the question of music education students’ identity construction from a symbolic interactionist perspective. He seeks to form a grounded theory regarding music education students’ identity construction through interviews with undergraduate music education majors (n = 108) and participant observation.

• Without exception, all interviewees saw themselves primarily as

musicians; the role of teacher did not appear to hold great significance for the undergraduate music education majors – at


least not as a wholly separate construct. The idea that all musicians are teachers of some sort, however, may be implicit in some students’ constructed identities.

• This definitional fusion may, in fact, be unique to the field of music

education; music education majors therefore may face a more problematic situation of identity construction than their counterparts in other academic disciplines. “[I]t is apparent that science or history teaching may perhaps be viewed more appropriately as informed by science or history studies but that music teaching may often be viewed as a function of a musician. . . . One cannot just borrow the knowledge about music as one might in science or history, one must, however, be a ‘musician’” (p. 32).

• The social structure and environment prevalent in most schools of

music may exacerbate the issue of identity construction for music education majors. The pressure to be viewed as a successful musician is a dominating influence and may leave little room in the students’ thinking to pursue the identity of teacher.

• Students, in their desire to be accepted as musicians, often hold

idealized views of themselves, regardless of reality. “[I]f this image in the mirror travels with the student beyond the borders of the music school, for instance into the classroom, perhaps there is cause for concern” (p. 35).

• “Thus it can be summarized that music education students typically

view themselves as either a ‘performer’ on some specific instrument to which there appears to be a strong affiliation as a player, or as a general ‘musician’. It further appears that this latter category is the perception of self for students who see themselves less able to compete for the ‘performer’ status. Despite the fact that all of these students are participating in a teacher education programme, their identity is squarely as a ‘musician’” (p. 37).

Woodford, P. G. (2002). The social construction of music teacher identity in

undergraduate music education majors. In R. Colwell & C. Richardson (Eds.), The New Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning (pp. 675-694). New York: Oxford.

• Most undergraduates enter their formal training viewing themselves

as musicians first and teachers second.


• A reflective or critical approach to music teacher preparation (as opposed to a traditional “transmission model”) provides the necessary environment for encouraging preservice teachers to develop a professional identity as a music teacher.

• The transition from student to teacher does not happen

automatically; rather, it requires a concerted effort on the part of the faculty to change the students’ perceptions of themselves. (See Beynon, 1998).

• “[P]reservice music teachers require assistance in bridging the gap

between university and school, theory and practice. . . . Their sense of professional identity emerged as they attempted to intellectually come to grips with those problems (p. 92). This would not have occurred at all, however, without Beynon’s assistance in the form of dialogical interviews with interns. . . . Without her active and sustained involvement in engaging students to intellectualize about their own practice, these students, too, would have failed to appreciate that music teaching entails a unity of theory and practice (Woodford, p. 687).”

• “Music teacher educators are limited with respect to their direct

influence on the public schools, but they can begin to address the problems of conservatism and intellectual passivity in music education majors by integrating reflective and critical educational practices throughout their own curricula, and not, as is all too often the case, in a seminar during the last year of the music teacher education program” (p. 689, emphasis added).

• “By exploring, understanding, and appreciating the multiplicity and

complexity of music teacher practice, music education majors can develop their intelligences, forms of expertise, and personalities—in short, their identities as music teachers—to the fullest extent possible. . . . The university may actually exacerbate this problem of professional identity by isolating undergraduates from the real world of public school teaching” (p. 690, emphasis added).

Preservice Teacher Development and Stages of Concern Bright, B. (1996). Reflecting on “reflective practice.” Studies in the

Education of Adults, 28(2).

• Examines the skills and processes of “reflective practice” and examines three stages from relation of reflective practice to


improved action and outcomes, to recognition and evaluation of outcomes implementation.

Burden, P. R. (1990). Teacher development. In W. Robert Houston (Ed.),

Handbook of Research on Teacher Education (pp. 311-328). New York: Macmillan.

• Examines various preservice teacher development models (Fuller &

Brown, 1975; Caruso, 1977; Yarger & Mertens, 1980; Sacks & Harrington, 1982). See p. 317, Table 18-2, “Preservice Teachers’ Developmental Stages.”

• The models share an emphasis on individual differences among

preservice teachers and the need to individualize interventions and support over extended periods of time. Some models have been criticized for lack of clarity in either defining stages or delineating a mechanism for moving from one stage to the next (p. 318).

Huba, M., & Freed, J. (2000). Learner-centered assessment on college

campuses. Needham Heights: Allyn & Bacon.

• “Reflective thinking develops over time. It is similar to most conceptions of critical thinking, but it also includes an epistemological dimension. As students become more reflective in their thinking, they must develop in their understanding of what can be known and how knowing occurs” (p.212).

King, P., & Kitchener, K. (1994). Developing reflective judgment:

Understanding and promoting intellectual growth and critical thinking in adolescents and adults. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

• According to Huba and Freed (2002), King and Kitchener establish

seven stages of reflective thinkers, from the lowest level where candidates do not see a need to reflect, to the highest level where candidates recognize the need for reflection and justification.

Korthagen, F., & Russell, T. (1999, April). Building teacher education on

what we know about teacher development. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

• Korthagen and Russell question the effectiveness of traditional

teacher education programs built on an application-of-theory model.


• Katz et al. (1981) and Bullough et al. (1991) have shown that

preservice teachers often fail to see the value of theory and propositional knowledge until they have experienced a challenge or problem. “This problem can also be stated as follows: in order to learn anything during teacher education, student teachers must have personal concerns about teaching or they must have encountered concrete problems” (p. 4, emphasis added).

• Emphasizes “the central role of reflection in teacher development”

(p. 7). “We define reflection as the mental process of trying to structure or restructure an experience, a problem or existing knowledge or insights” (p. 8, emphasis in original).

• “[T]eacher development is conceptualized as an ongoing process

of experiencing practical teaching and learning situations, reflecting on them under the guidance of an expert and developing one’s own insights into teaching through the interaction between personal reflection and theoretical notions offered by the expert” (p. 5).

• Instead of attempting to “bridge the gap” from theory to practice,

Korthagen and Russell suggest beginning with early, extended field-based experiences, thereby providing preservice teachers with an immediate opportunity to derive theory (or gain “situated knowledge”) from their experiences with guidance from a mentor/supervisor. This is termed the “realistic approach.”

Newman, C., Moss, B., Lenarz, M., & Newman, I. (1998, October). The

impact of a PDS internship/student teaching program on the self-efficacy, stages of concern and role perceptions of preservice teaching. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.

• Examined 15 preservice teachers’ reflective abilities after immersion

into a PDS environment. • “It is the researchers’ belief that the cohort participants were able

to move to higher levels of concern more quickly because they were continually encouraged to collaborate and to reflect on the effects of their actions on their students” (p. 7).


Reven, F., Cartwright, C., & Munday, R. (1997). Developmental phases of preservice secondary teachers. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 24(4), 240-245.

• From the ERIC abstract: “A qualitative study (multiple-case study

design using reflective journals, in-depth semistructured interviews, and intensive personal observations) of eight secondary preservice teachers to determine professional growth phases during a field-based teacher education program leading to public school certification. Study identified six categories of professional growth: anticipation, adjustment, redefinition, transformation, commitment, and renewed anticipation.”

Zielinski, E. J., & Preston, D. D. (1992, March). The evolution of preservice

science teachers' concerns about teaching. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association of Research in Science Teaching, Boston, MA.

• Developed and administered a “Preservice Stages of Concern

Questionnaire” based on Hall, George, & Rutherford (1979) stages of concern (N = 67).

• Preservice teachers’ concerns were primarily information-centered

prior to being involved in teaching situations (Freshman and Sophomore years), after which their concerns shifted to student-centered issues (during junior level practica).

• Based on their findings and those in previous studies, Zielinski and

Preston suggest that preservice teachers may not be able to think reflectively about teaching until they have been in a teaching situation. Findings “may indicate that a preservice teacher is not ready to become reflective until they have been confronted with a teaching situation” (p. 7, emphasis added).

Zulich, J., Bean, T. W., & Herrick, J. (1992). Charting stages of preservice

teacher development and reflection in a multicultural community through dialogue journal analysis. Teaching and Teacher Education, 8(4), 345-360.

• Examined the influence of personal biography on preservice

teachers’ development. Dialogue journals of eight students (most post-baccalaureate) were analyzed using a constant-comparative method to identify themes and categories.


• Analysis of dialogue journals revealed patterns consistent with Burden’s (1990) findings regarding stages of concern – introductory (idealism), intermediate (concern for self and effectiveness of teaching methods), and immersion (student-centered concerns).

• Stages may overlap and are affected by personal biography and

the degree to which the student identifies with the prevailing “discipline subculture” (p. 357).

• Subscribing to the ideas and practices of the discipline subculture is

portrayed as a potential hindrance in the development process. For example, “Marge was a very positive student who understood the pedagogical limitations of the lecture method and refused to become mired in her discipline subculture” (p. 353).

• The major turning point in teacher development: shifting concerns

from self (survival) and content to the student – this represents “a real evolution in becoming a teacher. . . . It marks a significant change in teacher development where the student teacher comes out of the all-encompassing concern for survival and displays real concern for individual student learning” (pp. 354-355).

• Implications for teacher preparation programs:

o Preservice teachers should have opportunities to analyze their personal biographies within the framework of teacher development stages.

o They should also interview experienced teachers regarding their development as teachers.

• By using autobiographies, dialogue journals, and other reflective

approaches, we may be able to better understand who our students are. “Most importantly, we can transform the predominant model of teacher preparation from a technocratic apprenticeship to a process of communication and growth for preservice teachers, their cooperating mentors, and their students” (p. 359).

Reflective Practice in Preservice Teacher Preparation Programs Adler, S. A. (1990, February). The reflective practitioner and the curriculum

of teacher education. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association of Teacher Educators, Las Vegas, NV.

• A good overview of three theories of reflective practice

(Cruikshank, Schon, and Zeichner). Discusses various strategies for promoting reflective practice among preservice teachers.


• The ability to “problematize” teaching situations is important. The

implication for teacher preparation: the program “must emphasize learning by doing and coaching” (p. 7).

• Practicum logs and seminars have been used by some to

encourage the “problematization” of teaching situations. Autobiography and ethnography are also potential tools for examining the ethical and political implications of teachers’ actions in the classroom. Adler notes that evidence of the strategies’ effectiveness is limited.

• “[R]eflection has to begin by getting students to think about

themselves and their own experiences” (p. 15). A critical pedagogy approach begins with an examination of preservice teachers’ presuppositions regarding teaching and learning. The next step involves instilling a “sense of agency” in preservice teachers through guided problem solving with the intent of uncovering, addressing, and reframing tacit theories of teaching and learning.

• In methods classes, Adler & Goodman (1986) suggest the following

sequence for encouraging the development of critical reflection skills: students (a) reexamine their own school experience, (b) consider their discipline in terms of ideals, (c) use data interviews, observations, and textbook analyses to describe the present status of their discipline in the schools, and (d) “synthesize their personal knowledge with the ideas gathered from other class members and readings” (p. 20). Those ideas are also applied to field experiences in which students are directly involved in curriculum development based on critical reflection.

• Some difficulties in developing critical reflection among preservice

teachers: o “Preservice teachers are often very focused on learning the

‘best’ way and become impatient with inquiry oriented activities” (p. 22).

o Frequently the prevailing practices encountered in their field experience and university courses do not support reflective practice.

o The development and implementation of self-analysis skills is a challenge.

Barry, N. H. (1994, November). Promoting reflective practice among

undergraduate education majors in an elementary music methods


course. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Mid-South Education research Association, Nashville, TN.

• See also: Barry, N. H. Promoting Reflective Practice in an Elementary

Music Methods Course, Journal of Music Teacher Education, Spring 1996, 6-13.

• Barry examined students’ (n = 45; 44 female, 1 male) perceptions of

various reflective activities employed in an elementary music methods course with regard to the activities’ usefulness to them as teachers in the future and the amount of thought and reflection required in each activity. Students rated 14 activities using a Lykert-type scale (0-5).

• Students tended to give high ratings to “hands-on” activities (e.g.,

laboratory teaching experiences, lesson plan construction) in terms of future usefulness and the amount of thought and reflection involved.

• Journal writing received the lowest rating for usefulness and the

second-to-lowest rating for amount of thought and reflection required. Barry postulated that the students either did not understand the purpose of the journal or were simply lazy and did not take it seriously.

• Barry concluded that “students may require an external impetus to

promote reflection” and that teacher educators should “structure [courses] to promote more thoughtful and consistent journal entries. . . . Preservice teachers may lack the internal motivation and/or the experiential framework to engage in reflective practice” (pp. 8-10, emphasis added).

Dewey, J. (1933). How we think. New York: Heath and Company.

• Seminal work on critical thinking and reflective thought. Freese, A. R. (1999). The role of reflection on preservice teachers’

development in the context of a professional development school. Teaching and Teacher Education, 15(8), 895-909.

• Defines reflection “as the process of making sense of one’s

experiences by deliberately and actively examining one’s thoughts and actions to arrive at new ways of understanding oneself as a teacher” (898, emphasis added). Freese used Loughran’s (1995)


framework for reflection: anticipatory reflection (during planning), contemporaneous reflection (while teaching), and retrospective reflection (after the lesson).

• Freese and the mentor teachers in the PDS modeled the use of this

tri-fold framework while teaching the pre-service teachers and public school students throughout the internship. Using the reflective framework allowed for a shared vocabulary among the preservice teachers, mentor teachers, and the investigator; this led to fruitful group discussions. This was supplemented with dialogue journals that preservice teachers used to pose questions as they observed mentor teachers in their classrooms.

• Freese collected data on the perceived usefulness of the three-part

reflective framework by interviewing the preservice teachers and analyzed the data using a constant comparative method to identify categories and themes. “They view their responsibility to be teaching for understanding as opposed to going through the motions of teaching” (p. 903). “Instead of providing a checklist of instructional strategies and do’s and don’ts [sic], the preservice teachers discovered together different ways of looking at learning, teaching, and what it means to be a teacher” (p. 904, emphasis added).

Galvez-Martin, M. E., & Bowman, C. (1998, February). Reflection and the

preservice teacher. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association of Teacher Educators, Dallas, TX.

• Preservice teachers can be taught self-reflection skills using a clearly

defined framework. • “When preservice teachers engage in reflective activities, they

improve considerably on their levels of reflection [as measured by various validated instruments]. . . . [P]reservice teachers tend to be more reflective when they receive specific training on reflective thinking” (p. 12).

Greene, M. L., & Campbell, C. (1993). Becoming a teacher: The

contribution of teacher education. Alberta Department of Education, Edmonton.

• Longitudinal qualitative study of 12 undergraduate students in a

two-semester practicum.


• Familiarity with the classroom environment may be a pitfall for preservice teachers; they may take things for granted without thinking critically about their teaching, etc. (Buchmann, 1989).

• “Reflection. . . does not just happen.” Students need to be taught

reflective thinking skills and be afforded multiple opportunities to practice those skills.

Henry, W. (2001). Music teacher education and the professional

development school. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 10(2), 23-28.

• Henry discusses the core principles of the PDS model and addresses

the benefits and unique challenges inherent in applying the PDS model to music education arena (e.g., limited instructional time and a tight performance schedule). Henry says, "the critical component, however, is the combined presence and participation of the professor, teacher, and cohort group during the reflective process during which theory is linked to practice" (p. 27).

Kraus, S., & Butler, K. (2000, February). Reflection is not description:

Cultivating reflection with preservice teachers. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Chicago, IL.

• Application of reflective thinking and practice as defined by Dewey

(1933), Eby (1998), and Schon (1987). • “Reflective dispositions must be fostered over a period of time and

in a variety of situations” (p. 1).

• Described the sequence of education courses at Glenville (WV) State College based on three development stages.

o Foundation (intro courses): use of classroom inquiry and discussion and dialogue journals with instructors to reflect on major educational theories and practice.

o Process (methods courses): reflective journals addressing assigned topics (with instructor feedback, sometimes built around specific artifacts or news items), written reflection on and class discussion of mini-lesson segments, discussion of “why” in addition to “what,” log of teaching techniques observed and how they could be implemented.

o Reflective Practice (student teaching): reflective journals, self assessment, lesson plan reflections (built into the lesson plan


form), “cluster meetings” for debriefing and discussion with peers and supervisor.

Loughran, J. (1994, April). Learning how to teach: Unpacking a teacher

educator’s thinking about pedagogy in pre-service education. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.

• Described three types of reflection: anticipatory,

contemporaneous, and retrospective. o Anticipatory reflection goes beyond mere lesson plan

construction and involves considering the variety of possible scenarios that may present challenges during the course of the lesson as well as any appropriate solutions.

o Contemporaneous reflection, the most difficult of the three, involves “thinking on your feet” and the decisions that are made during the act of teaching.

o Retrospective reflection involves a rehearsal of what transpired during the lesson, what could have gone better and why, etc.

• Loughran modeled reflection for his preservice teachers by using

“think-alouds” in his own teaching and by sharing his reflective journal entries with his students.

• Once the preservice teachers were past the survival stage of their

first practice teaching rounds, most were able to begin using reflection to inform their own teaching.

• “The more these contextual issues [of teaching and learning] are

explored the greater the possibility that development beyond a purely technical approach to (and understanding of) teaching might occur. Hence there is a need for teachers to reflect on the relationship between the act of teaching and the experience of learning” (p. 7).

Rodgers, C. (2002). Defining reflection: another look at John Dewey and

reflective thinking. Teachers College Record, 104(4), 842-866.

• Maintains that John Dewey’s conclusions related to reflection have been over-generalized and thus the meaning of “reflection” has “suffered a loss of meaning.” Rodgers distills Dewey’s work into four criteria for reflection.


Ross, D. D. (1990). Programmatic structures for the preparation of reflective teachers. In R. T. Clift, W. R. Houston, & M. C. Pugach (Eds.), Encouraging Reflective Practice in Education: An Analysis of Issues and Programs (pp. 97-118). New York: Teachers College, Columbia University.

• Developing reflective teachers requires the concerted efforts of all

faculty members within the program. This involves o adopting a common definition of reflection, o employing a variety of strategies to encourage reflection (see

below), o building a logically sequenced program, o developing collaborative partnerships with schools, o supporting graduates, and o evaluating the program.

• Discusses various programmatic strategies to encourage reflection:

o Reflective teaching (Cruickshank) o Inquiry activities (action research) o Reflective writing o Reflective supervisory approach and faculty modeling of

reflection o Questioning and dialogue

Townsend, R. D. (2001). The Holmes Group: A private college plausibility

study. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 10(1), 24-31.

• Townsend describes his efforts to implement Holmes Group PDS principles in a private college music teacher preparation program.

• "This study demonstrated (a) the value of significantly expanded

early field experiences during teacher preparation, (b) increased learning collegiality through a cohort group structure, and (c) the steps needed to develop a close alliance between secondary and college faculty for the benefit of the preservice teachers."

Schöen, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in

action. New York: Basic Books, Inc.

• This text informs the development of an “epistemology of practice which places technical problem-solving within a broader context of reflective inquiry, showing how reflection-in-action may be rigorous in its own right” and linked to practice (p.69).


Schöen, D. A. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

• This book is intended for individuals in schools or practice settings

and provides insight into developing a reflective practicum “to help students become proficient in a kind of reflection-in-action” (p. xii).

Strategies for Promoting Reflective Practice among Preservice Teachers

Reflective journaling. Bolin, A. U., Khramtsova, I., & Saarnio, D. (2005). Using student journals to

stimulate authentic learning: Balancing Bloom’s cognitive and affective domains. Teaching of Psychology, 32(3), 154-159.

• Students in this study valued “the affective outcomes of journal

writing. . . . Students want to understand why they are learning the material, and students who believed that they understood why gave higher ratings to course outcomes” (p. 157).

• Implication for teacher preparation: Journaling can be an effective

tool for involving students in the learning process. It allows students to apply concepts and ideas to their own lives, thereby giving them a sense of immediate application of course material.

• Challenges: how often to collect journals, finding adequate time to

read the journals, devising a system for assigning grades. One solution: effort-based grading.

Carter, C. W. (1998). The use of journals to promote reflection. Action in

Teacher Education, 19(4), 39-42.

• Examined the effectiveness of journal writing in promoting reflection among preservice teachers enrolled in an educational psychology course. Based on Dewey’s conception of reflective (critical) thinking.

• Students believed that journaling helped them to examine their

own beliefs and caused them to be more receptive to changing their beliefs.

Gordinier, C. L., Moberly, D. A., & Conway, K. (2004). Scaffolding enables

reflective thinking to become a disposition. Childhood Education, 80(3), 146.


• Through the use of reflective logs and group discussions, “[t]eacher candidates become more aware of their ability to make appropriate instructional decisions, and reflective thinking becomes more automatic.”

Longhurst, J., & Sandage, S. A. (2004). Appropriate technology and journal

writing: Structured dialogues that enhance learning. College Teaching, 52(2), 69-75.

• Journaling is an ideal way to involve students in the learning

process. It is an effective means of encouraging students to complete reading assignments and check understanding of course content. Structured journal assignments can be “low-risk” assessments that motivate and inform.

• Traditional paper-and-pencil journals can be unwieldy and

cumbersome – and so can the latest technological “solutions.” Longhurst and Sandage use dedicated e-mail accounts to correspond with students in a timely fashion without the hassle of missing notebooks or steep learning curves (everyone knows e-mail).

Martindale, T., & Wiley, D. A. (2005). Using weblogs in scholarship and

teaching. TechTrends, 49(2), 55-61.

• Weblogs are a dynamic tool for encouraging an ongoing exchange of ideas. They are more “permanent” than discussion forums, especially those hosted in a proprietary system like Blackboard, because they can continue to be accessed and used after the course is completed.

• The logistics of hosting websites and maintaining server space is an

issue. Should the student be required to pay for a host site? Should the school host the site instead? What happens when the student leaves?

Williams, D. A. (1999). Using out-of-class time in educationally purposeful

ways. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 9(1), 18-24.

• The use of online forums and electronic course journals to extend class discussions and promote dialogue and the exchange of ideas between students and teachers has improved the music education program at the University of South Florida.


• Because electronic messages are time-stamped, students write their entries while the experience/class session/observation is still fresh in their minds instead of waiting until just before the journal is due to write several entries at once.

Portfolios. Bauer, W., & Dunn, R. (2003). Digital reflection: the electronic portfolio in

music teacher education. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 13(1), 7-20.

• Citing Ormrod (1995), Bauer and Dunn maintain that the e-portfolio

may serve as an advanced organizer, but more importantly it helps candidates to see connections within and among courses in the music education curriculum and “understand how the various curricular components relate to their goal of becoming a music teacher, resulting in more meaningful learning” (p.16).

Berg, M. H., & Lind, V. R. (2003). Preservice music teacher electronic

portfolios: Integrating reflection and technology. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 12(2), 18-28.

• “Student essays written at the end of the semester provided

evidence of reflective thinking and showed evidence that constructing an electronic portfolio did facilitate reflective practice.” “Students were able to reflect on their teaching, analyze their strengths and weaknesses, and set goals for continued improvement” (p.22).

. Klenowski, V. (2002). Developing portfolios for learning and assessment.

New York: RoutledgeFalmer.

• “The portfolio has the potential to provide a structure and processes for documenting, reflecting and making public learning and teaching practices” (p.37).

• Portfolio assessment can be used to “support the acquisition of professional attitudes and develop strategies of reflective thinking and critical self-evaluation” (p.38).

• Klenowski provides several case studies that illustrate the impact of portfolio development on skills and outcomes of reflection and reflective practice.

Zubizarreta, J. (2004). The learning portfolio. Bolton: Anker Publishing.


• “This book argues that the durable value of portfolios in improving

student learning resides in engaging students not just in collecting representative samples of the work for assessment, evaluation, or career preparation but in addressing vital reflective questions that invite systematic and protracted inquiry” (p.8).

Assessment of student reflections. Creme, P. (2005). Should student learning journals be assessed?

Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 30(3), 287-296.

• Cites Stierer (2000) regarding reflective journaling in a professional education course. Students tended to take a formulaic approach to their reflective writing assignments. “While the process of reflection through the course may have been ‘transformative’, it seemed that ‘writing’ it, to what felt like a given formula, became a matter of simply doing what was required” (p. 293).

• “To assess learning journals formally would demonstrate that the

academy recognizes and values this different way of constructing and writing knowledge in its students; on the other hand, assessment may undermine the very qualities that we value in the journal [i.e., open-ended exploration of issues]. I have suggested as a compromise that we use a range of formative kinds of assessment for the journals themselves, and then assess summatively a new, final product” (p. 295).

Crotty, T., & Allyn, D. (2001). Evaluating student reflections. University of

Wisconsin – River Falls. ERIC # ED 459 174

• Described the development of a rubric for evaluating preservice teachers’ reflections in conjunction with electronic portfolios.

• The rubric was based on the ten Wisconsin Teacher Standards and

Bloom’s taxonomy. Students reflected “on how, why, and where they met the learning outcomes and Wisconsin Teacher Standards with the videotaped assignments [of their own teaching]” (p.1).

Jay, T., & Brooks, P. (2004). “Self-censorship in course diaries.” College

Teaching, 52(3), 82-86.

• Examined students’ self-censorship of diaries in psychology and non-psychology courses.


• Found that the likelihood of self-censorship is greater in courses that involve highly personal information than in an internship course, “probably because the diary component permitted them to see their own intellectual growth in an applied setting. . .” (p. 85).

Norton, J. L. (1994, February). The effects of time, teaching certification

type, and field placement on reflective thinking in preservice teachers. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association of Teacher Educators, Atlanta, GA.

• Used a predetermined framework (Pedagogical Language

Acquisition and Conceptual Development Taxonomy of Teacher Reflective Thought, or “RPT Taxonomy”) to train students (n = 13) to write reflective dialogue journals. Also used the RPT Taxonomy to rate the level of reflection displayed in each of eight entries.

• RPT Taxonomy (Simmons, Sparks, Starko, Pasch, & Colton, 1989)

Descriptions of teaching activities • Level 1: no description • Level 2: uses only layperson terms • Level 3: uses appropriate pedagogical terminology

Explanations of teaching activities • Level 4: based on personal experience, tradition • Level 5: applies pedagogical principles to address

cause and effect • Level 6: considers context and situational influences

that affect learning • Level 7: assesses the ethical, moral, and political import

of educational decisions

• Found that students became generally more reflective throughout the course of the semester. “Informal observations and conversations with preservice teachers suggested dialogue journals may have been major catalysts in promoting and refining strategies of reflective thought. Explicit guidelines for writing reflective journals, journal topics complementing seminar discussions, and extensive probing and feedback from field supervisors were frequently mentioned as instrumental in developing reflective thinking” (p. 20).

Ross, D. D. (1989). First steps in developing a reflective approach. Journal

of Teacher Education, 40(2), 22-30.

• Used a rubric based on a seven-stage model of the development of reflective judgment (Kitchner, 1977; King, 1977) to evaluate


students’ reflection in 134 theory-to-practice papers written throughout a semester.

• Theory-to-practice papers: connect an idea from class discussion or

reading with specific practices observed in pre-college classrooms.

• Findings from theory-to-practice paper analyses: o Most students’ quality of reflection varied throughout the

course. o The quality of reflection did not improve over time. o Paper topic seemed to affect the level of reflection (e.g.,

mechanics of teaching techniques vs. application of research findings)

o Students generally were able to recognize and analyze effective classroom practices in some detail, though they tended to oversimplify cause and effect relationships.

• An implication of this study: students’ reflective abilities should be

assessed to gain a better understanding of the students’ perspectives. Only then can you help them address misconceptions and beliefs regarding teaching and learning.


Impediments to the Development of the Music Teacher: Impact of the Social Context in the Music School on the

Emerging Identity of Future Music Educators

Daniel Hellman

Teacher attrition and the shortage of music teachers have been serious issues in music education for several years. Considerable attrition from the teaching profession occurs early in teacher’s careers. As teaching candidates matriculate through teaching programs, approximately half eventually pursue and obtain teaching positions (Marso & Pigge, 1997). Of these approximately half leave the profession within five years (Darling-Hammond, 2002). The manner in which teaching candidates and novice teachers view themselves is an important indicator of their future continuation in the profession and should have the full attention of those involved in music education. It has been suggested that the lack of a strong teacher music teacher identity has been identified as a contributing factor to teacher attrition among music teachers (Hellman, 2005).

The conception that future music teachers derive of themselves occurs through the interactions they have with significant others including former music teachers, college teachers, colleagues, parents and friends (Berger & Luckmann, 1966). This occurs early in life through primary socialization, in which children assume the musical roles and attitudes of parents and significant others, and later through secondary socialization, in which music students view music teachers as a career role models (Woodford, 2002). Although primary socialization processes are more resilient than secondary socialization processes, most future music teachers experience teacher socialization via secondary socialization processes (Woodford, 2002). Berger and Luckman (1966) postulate that some fields of study such as music require deeper levels of identification, immersion and affect in order for secondary socialization to occur and that this is fulfilled by institutionalized practices. Music education may necessitate even greater levels of association, given that the wide variety of knowledge and skills involved in music teaching evades precise definition (Woodford, 2002).

Rose (1998, in Woodford, 2002) and Beynon (1998, in Woodford, 2002) consider the development of music teacher identity as social activism in which basic assumptions are questioned, unique understandings regarding teaching are devised, and the gap between what is and what could be are realized. As reported by Woodford, their


separate but complementary ethnographic studies, although very small in scope, suggest that college music teacher educators should promote critical reflection and analysis of the teaching-learning environment, if future teachers are to develop a professional identity. The idealism of these approaches have great merit for the development of astute thinking educators; however, both prospective music teachers and music teacher educators must develop and maintain realistic relationships with practicing teachers in existing programs in K-12 schools and higher education institutions. Clearly, the development of a mature personal identity does require transformation on some level. In any case, in order to examine the potentialities for transformation, we must first examine the nature of the undergraduate experience in music education.

Within higher education institutions, the personal identities of future music teachers are shaped by mutual interactions and affirmation from significant others and casual acquaintances (Roberts, 1993). Undergraduates appear to identify with former school and private music teachers as significant others and develop a personal orientation towards either teaching or performance, but a professional identity as a music teacher does not appear to develop during the undergraduate experience (Roberts 1991, 1993, 2001; L’Roy, 1983; Woodford, 2002). In other words, music teaching may be viewed as a primary or secondary goal, depending on the student’s perspective, but even for those students who select music teaching as a college major for the exclusive purpose of teaching music in the schools, they identify most strongly as a music performer. Woodford (2002) speculates that this may result from (a) robust music performance socialization processes (b) high social status and recognition for music performance achievement, and (c) the wide variety of skills involved in music teaching.

These issues are involved in research by (Roberts 1991, 1993, 2000), and Kingsbury (1988). L’Roy (1983) examined similar topics, but she was not concerned with social context except as it relates to career commitment. Roberts used a symbolic interactionist perspective while Kingsbury took an anthropological approach. Kingsbury was not concerned specifically with music education, but similar issues were examined in his study within the context of a conservatory. In general, these studies involved data collected via self-report and observation and are quite indicting of the social context that music education majors experience in the music school. Kingsbury examined a single institution while Roberts examined 12 institutions across Canada in order to build a grounded theory concerning the social context of music education. Based on extensive interviews and observations at Canadian universities, Roberts (1993) theorized that undergraduate music education students gain or lose acceptance, individual value, and social status on ongoing basis in the music school via other’s perception of their musical


performance skills (Roberts, 1993). In this research, he observed that within the social life of musicians studying in a music school, status as a musician was central, and students gained status in the music school through their association with their private teacher, placement in more prestigious ensembles, attainment of a higher chair in those ensembles and pursuit a major in performance as well as through competitive awards, such as scholarships and performance contests. In this line of research, what seems particularly relevant to the development of music teacher identity is that important impressions of the program are revealed through the audition process, and significant and referent others are influential in the development of an identity in the music school. Because these qualitative studies dealt with an extensive amount of data at a small number of institutions, global generalizations are not appropriate; however, the intent of this review is to examine research on social context of the music school that is relevant to music teacher identity development. Induction Processes

While future music education majors identify with their performing medium, it appears that this identity is threatened by the competitive nature of the audition process (Roberts 1991, 1993). Students reported that they were required to demonstrate musical performance prowess during the entrance audition far beyond that which was required for satisfactory grades in high school music courses. This contrasts greatly with entrance procedures from college majors outside the school of music. On the other hand, students entered the school of music with an official designation by virtue of an audition in which they are accepted to study in a music degree program, and this designation appeared to hold value as a mark of accomplishment and status.

During the audition, prospective students began their association with the music school understanding that the audition served as an important social filter and established legitimacy for their identity as a musician within this closed community (Roberts, 1991). As part of this process, faculty demonstrated little regard for them as persons, strong value for performance as a major, and used an established standard that was flexible in order to meet the needs for recruiting needed ensemble members. Prospective students came to understand that mastery of academic subjects was less valued than performance, and the status rewards of the music school was reserved for those who displayed technically superior performances and performed only classical music. They learned that the music school was rooted in firm traditions and the music school in general lacked respect for diverse genres and styles of music. Finally, the audition was perceived as a serious threat to the musician identity of even the most prepared candidates.


Once the audition was successful, access to the community was universal particularly during the orientation of the new academic year, and new music students experienced an open and welcoming instant sense of community (Roberts, 1991). Most significantly, community acceptance was reserved for those who passed the audition. Roberts observed that music education students who attended an institution where they were not officially based in the school of music experienced substantially more isolation from the community of musicians than those based in the music school. At the very early stages, music education majors perceived that their relationship with their private music instructor took on a special place of importance within the music school. Significant and Referent Others Prior to entering the music school, music education students typically used public school music teachers, private teachers and community musicians as role models (Roberts, 1993; Kingsbury, 1988). Once formal study began in the music school, music students used their applied teachers as their primary referent other and also as their most significant support for identity as a musician. The relationship between the private teacher and student was mutually beneficial as both the teacher and the student gained status based on the other’s performing prowess and reputation; although, the private teacher obviously had significant power in the relationship, music students trusted that their teacher would enable them to succeed in the music school both academically and socially (Roberts, 1993). Music education students did perceive that this status in the music school was based exclusively on performing prowess, and they were aware that additional skills were needed for successful teaching. Unfortunately, they felt that performance teachers belittled the value of music education, and that they often attempted to steer students away from music education. While the influence of the private teacher appeared robust, the role of other music faculty was less clear. Students expressed little enthusiasm for their studies in other areas such as music theory, music history and music education, and did not hold these faculty as role models. Whether this was due to the length of the relationship with the private teacher or because music was equated strictly with performance was not fully detailed in this line of research. Nevertheless, students expected all music faculty to support them by attending their recitals.

Incoming students used upperclassmen as an important reference group in order to determine the standards of the music school (Roberts, 1993), and overall, peers’ influence upon one another involved quite a bit of drama in the music school. Powerful cliques existed, and acceptance by these cliques was central to earning status as a musician. Most significantly after the private teacher, other students who played the same instrument served as important referent others. They shared


common struggles and provided support as well as competition; however, underneath the actual competition, there was an almost ubiquitous checking out of the competition that seemed to permeate. For many students, this constant measuring up was particularly stressful; for example, students reported that other students would eavesdrop on their individual practice sessions. Supportive friendships did emerge that would occasionally mitigate the effects of these situations. Demonstrating verbal knowledge of music was important as well; criticism of peer’s performances provided opportunities for music students to demonstrate music listening skills, which enhanced their status within the music school but also resulted in a negative status effect for the performer. Attending concerts and recitals held little value for status as a musician within the music school, and students did not generally attend peer recitals unless attendance was required, a friend was performing, or a performing peer held high status as a musician (Roberts, 1993; Kingsbury, 1988).

Roberts (1991) also noted that music education majors held considerable resentment towards performance majors because they receive undeserved privileges and recognition through preferred placements in competitions, recitals, courses, ensembles, and private lessons as well as an overall privileged and unjustified social status. In interviews, music education majors described being verbally insulted, belittled, ignored and dismissed on the basis of their degree status. While this attitude appeared to come directly from performance students; the perception was that faculty were contributors. In general, music education majors often dismissed performance majors as out of touch, uninformed and unrealistic. While performance majors often had higher attributed status on the basis on their degree program, music education majors claimed to be equally qualified but focused their efforts on more beneficial and realistic pursuits. In some cases music education majors simply identified as performance majors or failed to reveal that they were music education majors in order to retain social status and friendships. What seemed abundantly clear to music education majors was that solo performing and performance were tied to self-worth within the music school. While it appears that music education students perceive their identity as being seriously threatened by performance majors, Allen (2003) found that music education majors developed a stronger career identity over the course of their undergraduate preparation while performance majors’ career identity declined. In research on music teacher preparation in Sweden, Bouj (2000, 2004) found that some music education students who were less focused on performance began to consider themselves as all around musicians. The process appears complex, but the social context appears to impact on the way that future music teachers view themselves.


Relationships outside the music school generally held less influence than those within the music school (Roberts 1991, 1993). Music students reported that although their parents and family generally supported their decision to attend college, they were fairly ambivalent towards music and music education study, because it did not appear to have substantive potential for job security. Music students also reported that strong physical, emotional and social barriers prevented the larger campus community from participating in the life of the music school as well as students in the music school from participating in the greater campus community. This resulted in a shared perception that music students were underrepresented in interactions with the larger academic world. Music students were often satisfied with the lack of social connections outside the music school because the music school was sufficient to fulfill their social needs. Music students also related that their collegiate peers outside the school of music viewed music study as easy, fun, lacking rigor and worthless; consequently, music students were perceived as social misfits, odd, eccentric and out of touch, and music was thought of as a clique, silly little club or high school. While music students often did not dispute the accuracy of these perceptions, they perceived that their non-music peers did not understand the time commitment required due to their extensive coursework, rehearsals and practice time nor did they acknowledge music study as worthwhile. Discussion

Based on this review, the possibility exists that institutional effects influence identity development in music education students. While none of the studies in this review are generalizable, they serve to remind us that schools of music are social institutions, and the education of future music teachers involve an environment ripe with diverse social interactions. As teacher educators, we envision well-structured curricula that will achieve important goals and facilitate essential skills; but, we should realize that student engagement in the hidden curriculum can be quite a powerful (Zeichner & Gore, 1990). Significant socialization occurs during the higher education experience, and certainly the music school is no exception (Kingsbury, 1988; Roberts, 2004, 2001, 1993, 1991).

This social context of the undergraduate experience and the development of identity for music education students are mired with complexities. Some writers have identified the lack of development of a teacher identity during the undergraduate experience in music education as a serious issue and have suggested that it is necessary to break from identifying with former or model teachers in order to begin to develop a teacher identity (Woodford, 2002). Additionally, identity development is quite malleable during the traditional college years, and a great deal of change and experimentation is likely. While the development of identity is


an intricate process, some students do not even desire to develop a music teacher identity because they are not attracted to music teaching itself, but only as a back up plan in case music performance is not a viable career option.

A performer identity is bound to be strong given the hours spent as a performer in the undergraduate program, but a strong performer identity or an orientation towards performance does not necessarily preclude the emergence of either a teacher identity or an orientation towards teaching; Roberts (2000) notes that “nothing is taken away from a teacher simply because he becomes a teacher in addition to being a musician.” Although a performer identity can be linked to the perception of performer competence through performance demonstration, music teacher identity is more elusive because it cannot be directly linked to specific actions. Clearly, the nature of teaching involves not only displaying one’s own skill but also the ability to enable others to gain knowledge and develop skills. Music teaching requires the ability to develop, maintain and sustain relationships in addition to the essential musical and pedagogical skills required. What may inhibit future music teachers’ identity development is that they lack opportunities to develop, maintain and sustain those relationships needed for a music teacher identity while enrolled in the School of Music.

The School of Music generally serves the needs of a variety of music majors as well as nonmajors, and the greatest commonality throughout the School of Music is performance. Requirements for private performance study and ensemble participation are nearly ubiquitous each semester of study for all music majors, at least at the undergraduate level, and college students outside the school of music tend to equate music study wholly with performance. As expected, the performance identity receives a great deal of support within the School of Music, but the degree to which students experience isolation both inside and outside the School of Music shapes the development of a music teacher identity while enrolled in the School of Music as well as during the early years of teaching.

Isolation within the music school could have far reaching implications for music education students, particularly if a temporary lack success in music performance becomes equated with self worth. Music performance is certainly an area of important competence in music; however, the extent to which music education majors internalize themselves and their future profession as less valuable due to social isolation factors is problematic. Social isolation from other music students is one issue, while isolation from the larger community is quite another. If music education students have few meaningful social interactions outside the music school, they may be unprepared for the larger net of


relationships required of music teachers, particularly in the early years of teaching when developing these relationships are especially critical. Implications for Supporting Future Music Teachers Music teacher educators have an important part to play both inside and outside the classroom in supporting music education students in their desire to become music teachers. Private college teachers are significant others for music education students as musical influences, but many also demonstrate a personal commitment and interest to their students. The college music teacher educator could have an influential role as well; in addition to the formal function of music teacher educators as college teachers and supervisors who guide aspiring teachers pedagogically, music teacher educators can also adopt a significant mentoring role throughout the undergraduate curriculum in order to help music education students assume a music teacher identity. For example, music teacher educators can encourage future music teachers to interact with the greater campus community beyond the music school. By taking an interest in music education students on a personal level, music teacher educators can influence the development of a music teacher identity within future music teachers. Suggestions for Research Considering the importance of the undergraduate experience for future music teachers, the impact of the social context upon the development of music teacher identity is certainly worthy of additional study. The work of Roberts and Kingsbury provide much needed data regarding the influence of the social context of music teachers; however future studies should address whether music education students are even able to develop a music teacher identity and how different types of institutions might influence its development. Conservatories, large universities, regional colleges and universities offer vastly different types of music schools depending on their size, facilities, funding, and traditions. Perhaps, these different types of institutions offer different strengths for prospective music teachers. Conversely, while perspectives from the point of view of higher education institutions are important, valuable information could be also gained by examining how music teachers who persist in the profession perceive the social context of their undergraduate experience. Practicing teachers could provide valuable insights concerning the environmental aspects of their preservice preparation as well as the curricular aspects. The ability to interact successfully within the larger world is vital for music teachers, and interactions will be difficult if music teachers believe that they are odd or strange with compared with the non-musician world. Future research should detail the quality and types of interactions that


aspiring music teachers have with the larger academic community. If music education students are apprehensive about interacting with the greater community or are unable due to do so because the requirements involved in music teacher preparation are extensive, this deserves the attention of music teachers educators. While our academic programs are important for teachers success in the future, building relationships with those outside the music profession is essential so that music programs at all levels can flourish. References Allen, M. L. (2003). A longitudinal study of vocational commitment among

undergraduate music majors. Journal of Music Teacher Education 12 (2) Retrieved March 11, 2006 from http://www.menc.org/mbronly/publication/Fall03JMT.pdf

Berger, P. L. & Luckmann, T. (1966). A treatise in the sociology of knowledge. Garden City NY: Anchor Books

Bouj, C. (2004). Two theoretical perspective on the socialization of music teachers. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education 3 Retrieved August 1, 2005 from http://www.siue.edu/MUSIC/ACTPAPERS/v3/Bouij04.pdf

Bouj, C. (2000). Music teacher socialization: Report from a Swedish research project. In R. R. Rideout & S. J. Paul (eds.), On the Socialization of Music Education II: Papers from the music education symposium at the University of Oklahoma. (pp. 51 – 62) Amherst: Privately published

Darling-Hammond, L. (2002). Solving the dilemmas of teacher supply, demand, and standards: How we can ensure a competent, caring, and qualified teacher for every child. [On-line]. Retrieved September 1, 2002 from http://www.nctaf.org/publications/solving.pdf

Hellman, D. S. (under review). Do music education majors intend to teach music? An exploratory survey. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education.

L'Roy, D. A. (1984). The development of occupational identity in undergraduate music education majors. (Doctoral dissertation, North Texas State University, 1983). Dissertation Abstracts International 44, 2401.

Kingsbury, H. (1988). Music, talent, and performance: A conservatory cultural system. Philadephia: Temple University Press

Marso, R. N. & Pigge, F. L. (1997). A longitudinal study of persisting and nonpersisting teachers’ academic and personal characteristics. Journal of Experimental Education, 65, 243 – 254.

Roberts, B. A. (2004). Who’s in the mirror? Issues surrounding the identity construction of music educators. Action, Criticism, and Theory for


Music Education 3 (2). Retrieved September 29, 2005 from http://mas.siue,edu/ACT/v3/Roberts04.pdf

Roberts, B. A. (2000). A North American response to Bouj: Music education student identity construction revisited in Sweden. In R. R. Rideout & S. J. Paul (eds.), On the Socialization of Music Education II: Papers from the music education symposium at the University of Oklahoma. (pp. 51 – 62) Amherst: Privately published

Roberts, B. A. (1993) I, Musician: Towards a model of Identity Construction and Maintenance by Music Education Students as Musicians. St. John's, Newfoundland: Memorial University of Newfoundland

Roberts, B. A. (1991) A Place to Play: The Social World of University Schools of Music. St. John's, Newfoundland: Memorial University of Newfoundland

Woodford, P. G. (2002). The social construction of music teacher identity in undergraduate music teacher education. In R. Colwell & C. Richardson (eds.), The new handbook of research on music teaching and learning. New York: Oxford Press

Zeichner, K. M. & Gore, J. M. (1990). Teacher socialization In W. R. Houston (ed.), Handbook of research on teacher education. New York: Macmillian Publishing


Musician/Performer Role Conflict

Peter Miksza Introduction

This literature review and the suggestions for future research which follow are responses to the need for a summary of the research literature regarding music teacher identity and role conflict identified by the SMTE, Study of the Pre-service Teacher special action group. The themes highlighted are relevant to conflicts that may arise among pre-service teachers’ identity constructions as musician, teacher and music teacher. Recent research efforts have approached this issue from two primary perspectives, through attempts to identify sociological models of identity construction and/or by focusing on the relative importance of various types or sets of skills in regards to successful music teaching. Consequently, the review of literature presented here will be divided into two sections (a) music teacher identity as a sociological construction and (b) teachers’ perceptions of the relative value of musical, personal, and teaching skill sets. The suggestions for future research will focus on integrating these primary streams of inquiry by recommending a specific quantitative approach for investigating the multidimensional nature of pre-service music teacher identity.

Music Teacher Identity as a Sociological Construction

Identity construction can be conceived as a sociological phenomenon. From this perspective, an individual is thought to actively define their identity through personal interactions with environmental factors or social situations (Woodford, 2002). Several researchers in music education have discussed how elements of social constructivist theory may be relevant to the development of teacher identity (e.g., Bouij, 2004; Paul, 1998; Roberts, 1991). Social constructivist theory conceptualizes identity as “…the imaginative view or role that individuals project for themselves in particular social positions, occupations, or situations (Mcall & Simmons, p. 65, 1978).” For example, Bouij (1998) has investigated the development of music teacher “role-identity” in a sample of 169 music teachers which consisted of representatives from each of the six university programs in Sweden. The concept of role-identity has been defined as “…the character and the role that an individual devises for himself as an occupant of a particular social situation (McCall & Simmons, p. 65, 1978).”

Bouij’s longitudinal investigation of Swedish music teachers has resulted in a theoretical model which depicts music teacher role-identity as multidimensional in nature. The model includes four primary role-


identities (a) all-around musician, (b) pupil-centered teacher, (c) performer, and (d) content-centered teacher. These four social constructions are also hypothesized to exist along two theoretical axes. The first axis represents an individuals’ musical self-concept (i.e., all-around musician vs. performer) whereas the second represents whether an individual sees their role in the profession as primarily a teacher or a musician (i.e., pupil- vs. content-centered). Bouij’s (1998) findings indicated that music teaching is seen to some as an option for those who cannot survive as a performer. The author also suggested that a crucial point in identity construction may occur when a student decides whether or not they can make a living as a performer and that the development of an ‘all-around musician’ role-identity may be in part an act of social self-preservation (Bouij, 2004).

The influence of conflicting and contradictory social forces on teacher identity (i.e., performer vs. teacher) has been documented frequently by music education researchers from other countries as well (e.g., Mark, 1998). Roberts (1991) investigated the identity of 108 Canadian undergraduate music education students from five universities and found that the subjects’ role development as music teachers may have been suppressed by their desires to affirm legitimacy as performers. For example, when asked what they were studying in school most of Roberts’ subjects replied their main instrument rather than music education. The author has also suggested that status and prestige among university students may be more closely aligned with one’s performing skill than anything else (Roberts, 2004). Roberts cites issues such as the systematic of exclusion of music education majors from certain ensembles and private teacher studios as well as a skewed rewards system (e.g., performance based scholarships, entrance criteria, and access to guest faculty) as evidence for his claim. Roberts (1991) also found that those subjects who were less successful performers tended to view themselves more as an all-around musician. This finding bears some similarity to the role-identity distinction highlighted by Bouij. Teachers’ perceptions of the relative value of musical, personal, and teaching skill sets

Conflicts that develop among pre-service teachers’ identity constructions as musician, teacher and music teacher are also likely to be related to the skills and characteristics an individual associates with effective teaching. Several researchers have inquired as to which particular sets of skills (e.g., musical, personal, teaching) are valued the most among various music teacher populations (e.g., Rohwer & Henry, 2004; Taebel, 1980; Teachout, 1997; Wayman, 2005). Subjects rated teaching skills higher than musical skills, personality skills or personality characteristics in each of the previously cited studies. These results were consistent across samples of pre-service music education students


(Teachout, 1997; Wayman, 2005), experienced public school teachers (Taebel, 1980; Teachout, 1997) and college music educators (Rohwer & Herny, 2004).

Taebel (1980) administered a survey to 204 practicing music teachers asking them to rate lists of musical and teaching competencies on a 6-point, likert-type scale ranging from ‘0-do not use’ to ‘5-essential to learning.’ One purpose of this study was to compare the rankings of competencies by teaching area (e.g., choral, instrumental, general). Musical competencies consisted of aural skills, conducting skills, vocal skills, analytic/composition skills, knowledge of history, literature and teaching materials, skills in dance and movement, and primary performance medium skills. Teaching competencies consisted of planning skills, pedagogical methods and techniques, use of instructional materials and equipment, communication skills, pupil evaluation and feedback, program and teacher evaluation, professional responsibilities, and control and management skills. ‘Aural skills’ was the highest rated musical competency across the sample whereas ‘professional enthusiasm’ and ‘clarity of instructions’ were among the highest rated teaching competencies. Teaching competencies were rated higher than musical competencies by subjects in each teaching area. However, with the exception of ‘accompanying skills’, all competencies received mean ratings higher than 3.00 which suggested that the distribution of responses may have been skewed. In other words, although rank-order differences were found, it is likely that all of the competencies were valued by the subjects. In a similar study, Teachout (1997) investigated the differences between pre-service (n=35) and experienced (n=35) music teachers’ perceptions of the relative importance of musical, personal and teaching skills to success during the first three years of teaching. The subjects rated 40 statements representing various skills and behaviors (e.g., ‘possess excellent singing skills,’ ‘maximize time on task,’ ‘manage stress well’) on a 4-point, likert-type scale ranging from ‘1-somewhat important’ to ‘4-extremely important.’ The results indicated that both groups rated musical skills significantly lower than both personal and teaching skills. In addition, the disparity between the ratings of musical skills and personal and teaching skills was larger for experienced teachers than pre-service teachers. However, with the exception of ‘piano skills,’ ‘singing skills,’ and ‘manage finances,’ each item received mean values greater than 3.00. Similar to Taebel’s findings (1980), this suggested that although mean differences existed, the distribution of the responses was likely skewed and most skills and/or behaviors were highly valued regardless of category. A replication of this study by Wayman (2005) found nearly identical results when comparing the ratings of first-year music education students and student teachers. Once again, although most items were rated relatively


high, musical skills received significantly lower ratings than both personal and teaching skills.

In contrast to the studies which employed survey methodology discussed above, other researchers have found that when asked open-ended questions regarding salient characteristics of effective teaching subjects tended to identify musical skills (e.g., Mills & Smith, 2003; Sogin & Wang, 2002). For example, Sogin and Wang (2002) found that when asked to “explain how you involve your students in values, experiences, insights, imagination, and appreciation through your own teaching" one third of the respondents discussed the ability to model and valuing high quality music as important factors. The respondents also responded that having a 'student-centered approach' was important as well. This finding was consistent for sub-samples of novice (n=35) and expert (n=15) music teachers. Similarly, Mills and Smith (2003) found that when asking a sample of English instrumental music educators (N=138) to recall strengths of the best lessons they received as students, musical skills and characteristics such as ‘teacher demonstrations,’ ‘technical knowledge’ and ‘emphases on tone quality’ were those most commonly cited. However, differences were observed when asked about the “hallmarks of good instrumental teaching” in reference to higher education as compared to school-age teaching. Mills and Smith found that the subjects tended to indicate teaching skills such as ‘enthusiasm’ and ‘communication’ as hallmarks for school-age teaching whereas musical skills such as ‘technical focus,’ ‘develop individual voice’ and ‘practice skills’ were more often associated with the hallmarks of good teaching in higher education. Suggestions for Future Research

The suggestions for future inquiry presented here highlight issues related to conducting research in the United States which may be comparable to the work being done in Europe and Canada, and the possibility of identifying an empirical, multidimensional model of music teacher identity.

Theoretical base. The model proposed by Bouij (1998) is rich in both

its theoretical base and multidimensional nature. The sociological constructivist theory that was employed has a relatively deep history, is well reasoned and is represented in the music education research literature regarding teacher identity. The sociological dimensions proposed by Bouij in regards to music teacher identity (i.e., performer vs. all-around musician, content-centered vs. pupil-centered) also resonate with themes that have emerged from research efforts in Canada (Roberts, 2004), the United Kingdom (e.g., the Teacher Identities in Music Education project – University of Surrey Roehampton) and other European countries (e.g., Mark, 1998). Investigations focused on these dimensions with music


teachers from the United States would contribute to an already somewhat large body of knowledge and provide a means for further international comparisons.

Potential methodological approach. I propose that a quantitative

study be designed which incorporates elements of both the sociological dimensions identified by Bouij (1998) and a representative sample of the skills sets and characteristics investigated by other researchers (e.g., Rowher & Henry, 2003; Taebel, 1980; Teachout, 1997; Wayman, 2005). Questionnaire items could be generated which are associated with the four primary poles of music teacher identity identified by Bouij (e.g., pupil centered teacher, content centered teacher, performer, all-around musician). Subjects could then be asked to rate the statements representing characteristics and skills thought to be related to each teacher identity trait on a scale indicating to what degree they believe the statement ‘fits best’ with their personal concept of an effective teacher. A rating system such as this could potentially avoid problems of excessive skewness and ceiling effect that may occur when subjects are asked to assign relative value between particular sets of skills. By employing cluster analyses, the individuals’ ratings of fit could then be used to identify empirical patterns of responses which could potentially group the individuals into relatively discrete categories. Mean differences for each questionnaire item or groups of items could then be analyzed as a function of the empirically arrived at groups to determine if profiles similar to that hypothesized by Bouij emerge in the sample. Conclusion

In this review I have suggested that steps be taken to integrate the research regarding sociological constructions of music teacher identity with that which has investigated the relative value of musical, personal and teaching skill sets. It was also suggested that a line of research be pursued in the United States that could be compared with similar work done in other countries (i.e., Sweden, Canada, United Kingdom). I have also proposed that by employing cluster analysis methodology, it might be possible to identify individuals who have identity constructions similar to those proposed by Bouij. A study such as that described above has the potential to yield results which (a) bridges two relatively discrete lines of research in music teacher education, (b) provides evidence either for or against the Bouij model of role-identity in American teachers, and (c) provides American music teacher educators with new insights into the developmental issues faced by their students. Efforts such as these could contribute to a larger body of work that may ultimately help students as they grow into committed and effective music teachers.


References Bouij,C. (1998). Swedish music teachers in training and professional life.

International Journal of Music Education, 32, 23-30. Bouij, C. (2004). Two theoretical perspectives on the socialization of music

teachers. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 3(3), (December 2004). http://mas.siue.edu/ACT/v3/Bouij04.pdf

Mark, D. (1998). The music teacher’s dilemma – musician or teacher? International Journal of Music Education, 32, 3-23.

McCall, G. & Simmons, J. L. (1978). Identities and interactions. New York: Free Press.

Mills, J. & Smith, J. (2003). Teacher’s beliefs about effective instrumental teaching in schools and higher education. British Journal of Music Education, 20(1), 5-28.

Paul, S. J. (1998). The effects of peer teaching experiences on the professional teacher role development of undergraduate instrumental music education majors. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 73-92.

Roberts, B. A. (1991). Music teacher education as identity construction. International Journal of Music Education, 18, 30-39.

Roberts, B. (2004). Who’s in the mirror? Issues surrounding the identity construction of music educators. Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, 3(2), (July 2004). http://mas.siue.edu/ACT/v3/Roberts04.pdf

Rohwer, D., & Henry, W. (2004). University teachers’ perceptions of requisite skills and characteristics of effective music teachers. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 13(2), 18-27.

Sogin, D. & Wang, C. (2002). An exploratory study of music teachers’ perception of factors associated with expertise in music teaching. Journal of Music Teacher Education, 12(1), 444-456.

Taebel, D. K. (1980). Public school music teachers’ perceptions of the effect of certain competencies on pupil learning. Journal of Research in Music Education, 28, 185-197.

Teachout, D. J. (1997). Pre-service and experiences teachers’ opinions of skills and behaviors important to successful music teaching. Journal of Research in Music Education, 45, 41-50.

Wayman, V. (2005, Feb.). Beginning music education students’ and student teachers’ opinions of skills and behaviors important to successful music teaching. Presented at the Desert Skies Symposium on Research in Music Education, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.

Woodford, P. G. (2002). The social construction of music teacher identity in undergraduate music education majors (pp. 675-694). In Colwell R., & Richardson, C. (Eds.) (2002). The New Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning. NY: Oxford University Press.


School Personnel Role-Related Tension and Job Satisfaction

John W. Scheib

Role Theory considers formal organizations to consist primarily of expectations that people, in their organizational roles, hold and communicate to each other. These expectations define jobs or roles and determine what one is supposed to do at work. Since jobs or roles are defined by others’ expectations, it is logical to assume that others’ expectations are the key ingredient of job stress. . . . The Role Theory base of much of the thinking and research on organizational stress assumes that the organization is a social system and that jobs are defined by interactions with others in the organization (Beehr, 1987, p. 80).

Understanding Role Theory & Role Stress

People often perceive the duties and expectations associated with their chosen profession based on what others communicate to them (Kahn, Wolfe, Quinn, & Snoek 1964). People within organizational systems communicate these expectations to each other regarding the definition of jobs and roles. A lack of compatibility between expectations can create conflict and tension. Occupational stress research has categorized this as a role conflict (Kahn, et al., 1964).

Beehr (1987) describes a role as a “set of behaviors associated with an office” (p. 80). Each office (e.g., music teacher) contains a set of activities to which roles are formed. For example, the school music teacher has many roles that he/she is expected to perform due to the activities that he/she is involved in within the office of music teacher. The separate roles of conductor, director, administrator, teacher, and staff member are all commonly associated with the office of music teacher. Five role-related concepts that are important to understanding how roles are prescribed and developed: role set, role expectation, role pressure, role force, and role behavior. A role set is composed of offices that are “very closely related to a given office and its associated role” (Beehr, 1987, p. 80). For example, other teachers, administrative personnel, students, and parents influence the office and roles of the music teacher. Because of their influence, these offices are included in the role set for the office of music teacher. Since the members of a role set are determined by their influence, these members have expectations for the person who holds the office.


These role expectations (Kahn et al., 1964) are visions that a member of the role set has for the person. They deal with “what the person should do, what kind of person he should be, what he should think or believe, and how he should relate to others” (Kahn et al., 1964, p. 14). These expectations are either directly or indirectly communicated or “sent” by the members of the role set to the focal person (Kahn et al., 1964). The sent role from the member of the role set can be in the form of demands or requirements placed on the focal person. Kahn et al. (1964) define these role pressures as attempts to “bring about conformity with the expectations of the senders” (p. 15). They may come from formal sources such as supervisors, or informal sources such as subordinates (Kahn et al., 1964). Role pressures do not have to conform to an appropriate view of the office as they might in fact be “directed toward making life easier or more pleasant for the senders themselves” (Kahn et al., 1964, p. 15). Role forces are the resulting psychological motivational forces at play coming from sent and received roles (Kahn et al., 1964). Beehr (1987) and Kahn et al. (1964) point out that role expectations received by the focal person are not always congruent with the sent role. To this, Kahn et al. (1964) state:

Each individual responds to the organization in terms of his perceptions of it, which may differ in various ways from the actual organization. . . . the individual responds not to the objective organization in his objective social environment, but to that representation of it which is in his psychological environment. . . . Thus for any person in the organization there is not only a sent role, consisting of the pressures which are communicated by members of his role set, but also a received role, consisting of his perceptions and cognitions of what was sent (p. 16).

Role conflict. Parsons (1954) reminds us there are consequences for

the individual if they do not comply with the roles set forth from the members of society. Role conflict is one such consequence. Beehr (1987) defines role conflict occurring when the “focal person is sent two or more role messages that are mutually contradictory”(p. 81). The focal person can self-send role expectations as well as other role senders. Role conflict can simply arise when a sent role is contradictory with the concept of the role the receiver has developed for him/herself.

Gross, Mason, & McEachern (1958) found a significant correlation between role conflict and job dissatisfaction. Getzels and Guba (1954) found role conflict to be correlated with ineffective teachers. House and Rizzo (1972), found that role conflict (and role ambiguity) correlated with


employee job dissatisfaction, perceived ineffectiveness, anxiety, and propensity to leave. Beehr (1995) cites “four [negative] psychological outcomes” from studies on the consequences of role conflict by Fisher and Gitelson (1983) and Jackson and Schuler (1985): involvement in the job; satisfaction with pay; satisfaction with supervisors; and satisfaction with co-workers (p. 79). In examining all occupational stress research using role conflict, Van Sell et al. (1981) argue that it is well documented that role conflict leads to job dissatisfaction and job-related tension. Since role conflict is often linked with job dissatisfaction and stress in the workplace, the literature on the phenomenon of burnout often uses role theory in addressing causal effects. A clinical psychologist named Herbert Freudenberger first coined the term burnout (Jackson, Schwab, & Schuler, 1986). Jackson, Schwab, and Schuler (1986) claim that role conflict can result in the frustration and emotional exhaustion that they (and others) call burnout.

In a study of 362 teachers and administrators, Burke and Greenglass (1995) found role conflict (and role ambiguity) to be “significantly and independently correlated with emotional exhaustion” (p. 194). Tosi and Tosi (1970) found this correlation several years before. Their findings indicate that the stress from experienced role conflict and ambiguity had a significant impact on teacher turnover (Tosi & Tosi, 1970). Byrne (1999) cites three common examples of role conflict as it relates to teacher burnout:

1. Quantity of work to be done and quality of work

realistically possible within time constraints. 2. Meeting the demands of overly large classes comprising

students of diverse ability levels and meeting the needs of individual students.

3. Taking positive action in resolving student disciplinary

problems and coping with negative or neutral support from administrators and parents (p. 22).

Role conflict is an inevitable part of the teacher’s professional life, in part, because of the numerous roles they are required to perform. To this point, Esteve (1989) states:

. . . teachers are often faced with the situation of having to combine various roles, roles which are contradictory and which demand that they maintain an extremely precarious balance between various positions. Thus, we find that society demands that teachers play variously the role of friend,


colleague, companion and helper in general in the development of the student, a position which is incompatible with the role of selector and evaluator which has also been entrusted to them. . . . Another frequent contradiction that helps to further the discomfort felt by many teachers is when they work within an institution where they are in disagreement on personal grounds with the form in which it functions or with the values therein encouraged, especially since, when meeting parents and students, the teacher is considered to be a representative of the institution (p. 11). A study by Chrisler (1998) found a role conflict between the role of

teacher and scholar among women in academe. Chrisler (1998) claims that this inter-role conflict is particularly stressful for women due to the restriction of women’s scholarly endeavors throughout history. In fact, research dealing with inter-role conflict has been done quite extensively on women in the workforce due to the restrictions and obstacles they have had to incur. The conflict between the “traditional” women’s roles (e.g., wife, homemaker, mother) and their equally demanding roles in the workforce often lead to stress due in part to the high dedication and involvement of each. In Chrisler’s (1998) discussion, the more “traditional” roles women have held often direct them more toward the teacher role in academe. Chrisler (1998) contends due to the masculinization of the role of scholar, it is more difficult for women to attain this position due to prejudice and tradition.

Khan et al. (1964) claim that all types of role conflict are similar in that “members of a role set exert role pressures to change the behavior of a focal person” (p. 21). Role conflict then can simply be regarded as inadequate role sending (Kahn et al., 1964). Another type of stressor based on this inadequate role sending, but ultimately involving a lack of communication to the focal person, is called role ambiguity (Kahn et al., 1964).

Role ambiguity. Pearce (1981) argues that role ambiguity is a result of both information deficiency and, as a consequence, unpredictability. Because of the deficiency of information given, the focal person is unable to predict the expectations of the role. This uncertainty and insecurity is the central issue to role ambiguity. Kahn et al. (1964) affirm this belief:

Certain information is required for adequate role performance, that is, in order for a person to conform to the role expectations held by members of his role set. First of all, he must know what these expectations are: the rights, duties, and responsibilities of his office. Second, he must know


something about what activities on his part will fulfill the responsibilities of office, and how these activities can best be performed. In other words, he requires various sorts of means-ends knowledge. He wants also to know the potential consequences of his role performance or nonperformance for himself, his role senders, and the organization in general (p. 22).

People have a need for information. Information allows people to feel more secure in understanding their place in the world. The ubiquitous ‘seeker’, who is searching for meaning in life, is motivated by a personal discontent that could be described as role ambiguity. The sensation of ambiguity is often stressful. Children know this all too well. We see children ‘act out’ when they are not sure of their limits, or when they don’t understand their place in the scheme of things. Cohen (1959) found a correlation between ambiguous task definitions and directions, worker anxiety, negative attitudes towards superiors, and a decrease in worker productivity. In a study of 140 college students, Smith (1957) found similar results. Smith’s (1957) study looked at the reactions of college students who were placed in working groups in order to solve problems. The groups that were given unclear directions and vague role specifications were more likely to exhibit hostility, dissatisfaction with the experience, and inefficiency in solving the problems (Smith, 1957). Most studies involving role ambiguity show a correlation between the stressor and anxiety, depression, decreased job involvement, and decreased organizational commitment (Van Sell et al., 1981). Kahn et al.(1964) create a distinction between objective ambiguity and subjective ambiguity. Objective ambiguity deals with the environment, the work place, or the context. Subjective ambiguity is the experience of the focal person – the experienced ambiguity. Objective ambiguity is the social and physical environment; subjective ambiguity is the person’s reaction, or psychological state, as a result of the environment. In discussing subjective ambiguity, Kahn et al. (1964) define several areas of stress in occupational roles that people may experience:

1. Not understanding what to do or how to do it. 2. Inability to distinguish between legitimate role senders and

those who can be ignored. 3. Doubts about how they are being evaluated by others.


4. Crucial information not available within organization and/or members of role set.

5. Information is available from members of role set, but is not

communicated (intentionally or unintentionally).

6. Information given from members of role set is unclear, fragmented, or incorrect.

7. Information given from members of role set is

contradictory (similar to role conflict). The first year teacher is particularly a prime candidate for the

experience of role ambiguity. Many school districts’ policies and procedures are not written down; they are learned through observation and experience. In discussing issues related to teacher burnout, Byrne (1999) cites three examples of role ambiguity in the teacher’s professional life:

1. Unclear and inconsistent policies regarding student

behavior. 2. Required restructuring of curricula and pedagogical

approaches in accordance with changing government mandates.

3. The perception of being held in low esteem by students,

parents, administrators, and the general public (p. 22).

Although role ambiguity and role conflict have been the most widely discussed and researched role stressors, other less prominent stressors (related to roles) have also gained attention. In addition to role ambiguity, Gupta and Beehr (1979) studied the affect of role overload, underutilization of skills, and resource inadequacy on employee withdrawal behaviors (turnover and absenteeism). Beehr (1995) also identifies these as role stressors, and adds one more: non-participation. I now turn to a brief discussion of these additional role stressors.

Role overload. Kahn et al. (1964) first described role overload as a subcategory of role conflict. They described it as follows:

Overload could be regarded as a kind of inter-sender conflict in which various role senders may hold quite legitimate expectations that a person perform a wide variety of tasks, all


of which are mutually compatible in the abstract. But it may be virtually impossible for the focal person to complete all of them within given time limits (p. 20). Beehr (1995) makes a distinction between role overload and

conflict/ambiguity by equating role overload as closely related to workload. A person is more likely to experience role overload as their workload increases. Both ideas are based on the quantity of work and/or roles to be performed. In contrast, role ambiguity and role conflict look specifically to the quality of the work and/or roles to be performed. Within the issue of teacher burnout, Byrne (1999) refers to work overload as having both quantitative and qualitative components. Much like Kahn et al.(1964) and Beehr (1995), Byrne (1999) defines quantitative aspects of teacher work overload as the demands outweighing the amount of time needed to meet the demands. Qualitative aspects of teacher work overload deal with job complexity issues; the work is too difficult to satisfactorily complete (Byrne, 1999). Byrne (1999) cites several teacher-disclosed workload stressors:

1. Excessive paperwork. 2. Oversize classes comprising students of heterogeneous

academic abilities.

3. Imposed time constraints.

4. The need to teach courses that are outside their particular skill area (p. 23).

Other authors that are not within the fold of role theory have

discussed the issue of the over-worked teacher using different terminology. Michael Apple (1993) refers to the issues of work overload as intensification. Because of the work overload and intensification, teachers are forced to solely focus on completing the task. As their workload increases, teachers need to rely more and more on administrative direction because they (teachers) no longer have time to design and implement their own curricular ideas or visions. As Apple (1993) states: “Quality is sacrificed for quantity” (p. 124).

Underutilization of skills. What could be seen as the opposite of role overload, the underutilization of a focal person’s skills can be equally as stressful. Beehr (1987) defines this concept as a type of role underload. This happens when role expectations do not allow the focal person to use his/her unique skills and abilities. This type of stressor can lead to worker


boredom and anxiety as well as high turnover and absenteeism (Gupta & Beehr, 1979).

Many teachers complain of this type of role underload when they are required to perform certain non-instructional “duties” as part of their contract. Fulfilling responsibilities in roles as ‘homeroom’ teacher, study hall supervisor, lunch or recess supervisor, and hall monitor are often viewed by these teachers as a waste of their time, skills, and resources. They feel that “babysitting” roles such as these do not allow them to use their professional skills and unique areas of educational specialty.

Resource inadequacy. Often we hear of resource inadequacies in public schools. With the tight fiscal budgets of school districts across the nation, teachers are constantly told do more with less. Teachers are expected to prepare their students for the world of the 21st century with resources (textbooks, etc.) from the 1960s. High school instrumental music teachers are told to provide a high quality marching band for school football half-time shows (or local parades, competitive field shows, etc.), but do not have the required instruments, equipment, or staffing to adequately meet this objective. Beehr (1987) describes this type of job stressor as resource inadequacy. In one way, it could be described as a type of role overload, since the worker is forced to try to “make things work” without the necessary tools and resources; a greater amount of energy must be given by the focal person in order to carry out the task.

Non-participation. When the focal person is not included in decisions affecting his/her office or role expectations, the focal person may experience stress. Beehr (1987) associates the issue of non-participation with role ambiguity since involvement in the decision making process would help the focal person to better understand the role expectations of his/her office.

Not only does role stress cause psychological symptoms, but research also shows a correlation between role stress and physical health. In a study of 370 university employees, Kemery, Mossholder, and Bedeian (1987) found that role stress (role conflict and ambiguity) related to a decrease in physical health. Role Stress Studies in Education

Although much research has been conducted concerning role stress of professionals in the private sector (Fisher & Gitelson, 1983; Jackson & Schuler, 1985), few studies have examined the issue of role stress among professionals in the public sector, and fewer still have examined role stress among members of the largest profession in the public sector: teachers. In a meta-analysis of the role stress literature


(Jackson & Schuler, 1985), fewer than 10% of the studies reviewed concerned individuals employed in either the public sector or by public utilities. . . and only three dealt with professionals (Bacharach et al., 1990, p. 416).

As Bacharach, Bamberger, and Mitchell state above, role theory

has been used for nearly a half-decade in occupational stress and job satisfaction research, but the research literature on teachers and role stress is quite limited. In a study that examined the first 26 volumes of the journal, Educational Administration Quarterly, Thompson et al. (1997) found that a synthesis of all research dealing with job satisfaction and role tension yielded similar results. The researchers summarized by stating that as role tension (e.g., role conflict, role ambiguity) increased, the overall job satisfaction of teachers and administrators decreased (Thompson et al., 1997). However, the job satisfaction – role tension relationship is more significant for teachers than administrators, and “job task characteristics” (e.g., role conflict, role ambiguity) contribute more to job dissatisfaction than to organizational or individual characteristics (e.g., age, gender) (Thompson et al., 1997).

The special education profession has had to deal with many issues of occupational stress, teacher attrition, and burnout. Many of these studies have looked at the link between role conflict/role ambiguity and teacher attrition in special education (Gonzalez, 1995). For example, in a study of 443 urban special education teachers, Crane and Iwanicki (1986) found role conflict and role ambiguity to significantly influence feelings of emotional exhaustion and depersonalization.

Another study by Billingsley and Cross (1992) compared 463 special and 493 general education teachers in order to examine predictors of commitment, job satisfaction, and intent to stay in teaching. The researchers found that work-related variables, such as role conflict and role ambiguity, were the best predictors (Billingsley & Cross, 1992).

In a study involving British teachers, Grace (1972) found that male teachers specifically had role conflicts between their desire for personal career advancement and their commitment to their existing teaching position; in order to advance in their profession, they needed to leave their existing teaching position. This was a conflict because they believed what was best for their students was not necessarily best for them professionally. Another conflict arose from the respondents of this study regarding the teacher’s values and the perceived values of others:

The teacher will always be in a conflict situation over values since he has to contend with legitimate parental expectations, his own commitments and his intellectual


concern with the critical attitude and the pursuit of truth (Grace, 1972, p. 116). Another study of British teachers surveyed 405 middle school, high

school, and college teachers in England for stress and burnout factors (Capel, 1992). Capel (1992) found that although stress and burnout were relatively low, individual (e.g., personality), environmental (e.g., workload), and psychological (e.g., role conflict, role ambiguity) variables significantly contributed to the stress of the teachers. Role conflict, in particular was found to be a significant predictor of anxiety and stress (Capel, 1992). As one would expect, role overload is also found to be a stressor in the lives of teachers. In a study of 124 female public school teachers, Jenkins and Calhoun (1991) found that the first and second most frequently reported stressor at work (and at home) was role overload related. The subjects of the study reported “work overload” as the top cause of stress, and “pressure” (too many pressures or demands) as the second (Jenkins & Calhoun, 1991, p. 64).

A survey of 880 education employees by Starnaman and Miller (1992) yielded results that pointed to both quantitative and qualitative workload as strongly influencing burnout and role stress. In an earlier survey of 700 Texas teachers, Lutz and Maddirala (1990) found that excessive paperwork, due to mandates and reform movements, was a significant factor in the emotional exhaustion of the respondents. The researchers also concluded that the teachers were becoming more apt to teach “to the test” in their classrooms due to mandated testing as well as the overwhelming working conditions (i.e., overload). Bacharach, Bamberger, and Mitchell (1990) surveyed 83 school districts in order to better understand the relationship between role conflict/role ambiguity and four sets of work design variables: supervision, job structuring, organizational career development, and classroom environment. Among other things, the researchers found a distinct difference between elementary and secondary school staff. While elementary school personnel’s role stress was more influenced by classroom environment factors, secondary school staff were more affected by supervisory issues (Bacharach et al., 1990). Bacharach et al. (1990) also found that “the more bureaucratically structured the job, the lower the reported level of role conflict and ambiguity” (p. 428). As they note, this is inconsistent with the popular view of professionalism in teaching and current reform movements where it is believed that teachers desire more freedom, control, and autonomy. Bacharach et al. (1990) suggest that bureaucracy, in the face of complex job situations, is important, and in good measure very helpful.


As a result of their findings, Bacharach et al. (1990) warn against ‘blanket’ policies that do not take into effect the intricacies of different grade levels, schools, and classrooms. Since role conflict and role ambiguity have been shown to exist independently of each other, and are often a due to different issues, any plan to resolve these tensions needs to take this into account.

Administrative personnel. Role senders and role receivers’ perceptions are influenced by interpersonal relationships as well as organizational and personality factors. Gross et al. (1958) surveyed 105 school superintendents and 517 members of their boards of education to find that the more homogenous the grouping of people, the more consensus they had in defining roles and expectations. The researchers found that superintendents as a whole had a greater consensus among them than did the board members (Gross et al., 1958). Board members who shared common backgrounds (religion, politics, education, etc.) were more likely to agree with each other; but superintendents that shared similar backgrounds with certain board members did not agree with them as much as they did with other superintendents (Gross et al., 1958). Gross et al. (1958) attributed this to an organizational-role system rather than a personal-status construct.

Role stress researchers often look to administrators as candidates for their studies. The high pressures, high demands, and boundary positioning of administrative personnel no doubt makes them attractive candidates for these studies. Kahn et al. (1964) define boundary positions as positions that are between organizations or systems; members of their role sets are located in different organizations or systems. In the case of administrators, role set members come not only from the institution of the school, but also from the community, school board, state departments of instruction, and institutions of higher learning. People from different systems define their roles. Because of this, boundary positions are more susceptible to role conflicts (Fisher & Gitelson, 1983; Jackson & Schuler, 1985; Kahn et al., 1964).

Administrators hold boundary positions. Russell (1998), in a study of Wisconsin curriculum and instruction directors, found that the boundary position status of these administrators contributed to their moderately high levels of role conflict. Russell (1998) also noted that newer curriculum and instruction directors experienced more role conflict and role ambiguity than did veterans.

In a study of four “exceptional” principals that were satisfied overall with their positions, Duke (1988) found that they were also (surprisingly) planning on quitting. Their dissatisfaction with school policies, other administrative personnel, and limited professional growth opportunities resulted in role conflicts that could not be resolved to their satisfaction.


Stancato (1974) found role conflict between classroom teachers and administrative personnel to be based on issues of educational expertise, authority structure, professional status, and leadership. In a study of college administrators, Amey (1990) found that in addition to job dissatisfaction, role conflict and role ambiguity led to insecurities, tension, psychological strain, and feelings of futility. Both studies concluded that clarifying roles in addition to conflict resolution led to an increase in productivity and overall job satisfaction.

Teacher-coach conflict. Research has indicated that the teacher who also coaches often struggles with role conflicts (e.g., Figone, 1994; Locke & Massengale, 1978; Massengale, 1981). The community at-large desires a winning team, but parents of the players also want their child to have (at least) equal playing time. The teacher-coach experiences incompatibility with fulfilling both roles.

Teacher-coaches are usually hired as teaching staff, but are soon thereafter judged more on their success as coaches than on their effectiveness in the classroom. Because of this, teacher-coaches often perceive coaching as their primary occupation (Massengale, 1981). Administrators and supervisors can also become confused in this conflict. As Massengale (1981) states: “the result is a confused teacher-coach supervised by a confused administrator”(p. 23). This further creates role ambiguity.

Most teacher-coach’s were socialized as students through their career’s activity; they were ‘trained’ through participating in organized athletics as a child (Massengale, 1981). This socialization brings about an emphasis on the activity rather than the teaching.

The teacher-coach who is employed as a physical education instructor seems to experience greater role stress than do his/her academic teaching counterparts. In a study of 201 teacher-coaches, Locke and Massengale (1978) found that role conflict and role overload tensions were higher for coaches who were employed in physical education than those who were academic teachers. This might point to the socialization element as well. Physical education teachers, compared to other academic teachers, tend to have a more traditional philosophy of education, come from a lower social class background, and tend to be more dogmatic (Kenyon, 1965).

Figone (1994) states that the primary goals of coaching are to provide entertainment for fans, and to promote a positive image of the institution. This too is in conflict as the primary objectives of the physical education teacher are often the “psychomotor, cognitive, and affective development of students” (Fraleigh, 1985, in Figone, p. 29). For example, in order to promote a positive image of the institution, the team usually needs to win. To provide entertainment for fans, the team usually also


needs to win. For the team to win, the best players usually need to play as much as possible. In order to develop skills in students, all the students need to play – especially the less skilled. As a result, in most cases “the teacher-coach falls short of these expectancies of both roles or devotes time and energy toward one role, thereby neglecting the other” (Figone, 1994, p. 29).

In addition to role conflict and role ambiguity, role overload is also a significant factor in the stress of the physical education teacher. Haney and Long (1989), looked at the role conflict, role ambiguity, and role overload tensions of 140 physical education teachers. The researchers found that role overload was the best predictor of health concerns for these teachers. Chu (1981) found that male teacher-coaches consume 65.3 hours per week of combined duties during an athletic season.

Figone (1994) states: “Thus, out of necessity teacher-coaches may reject academic roles in order to minimize the dilemma as to which set of responsibilities should have priority – those of the teacher or those of the coach” (p. 31). Being that teacher-coaches identify themselves more with the role of coach than teacher, and they experience significant role overload during their coaching seasons, they try to resolve their role conflict by neglecting their role as teacher.

Music educators. In a study of job satisfaction and occupational stress, Heston et al. (1996) surveyed 120 Midwestern public school band directors and found that the three most stressful variables reported were negative student attitudes, inappropriate student behaviors, and teaching load. Although the researchers did not look at role stress, we can see a possible correlation. The stress reported as coming from negative student attitudes and behavior could be described as a person-role conflict: the teacher’s beliefs conflict with the attitudes/behavior of the students. This stress could also be a result of role ambiguity (teacher not comfortable with role as disciplinarian, authority figure, etc.), underutilization of skills (teacher not believing student motivation or management is the best use of their skills), or resource inadequacy (not sufficient time or resources to effectively manage students). The variable of teaching load can be best equated with a feeling of role overload. In fact, the researchers (possibly unknowingly) allude to this:

The band director performs myriad roles, including working with students in large-group, small-group, and individualized settings, as well as preparing for concerts. Effective time management may be a critical coping strategy for directors faced with the difficulties of balancing multiple roles and responsibilities (Heston et al., 1996, p. 325).


From a study involving interviews with 60 band directors from 52 different schools, Scheib & Burrack (2006) found similar results. School instrumental music educators from within a 65-mile radius of each other reported struggles and stresses involving inadequately motivated students, teaching and class schedules not conducive to providing a high-quality experiences for their students, and an overall lack of financial, administrative, and parental support.

Although in some ways similar to the teacher-coach identity crisis, music educators are unique in that they often hold two separate identities: musician and teacher (Barresi, 1980; Roberts, 1990; Scheib, 2006b). Rarely do you hear classroom teachers refer to themselves as “mathematicians” or “scientists” before stating they are a teacher. Music teachers, however, are usually trained first as a musician, then as a teacher. Their identity often begins as knowing themselves as musicians.

Several role-related studies in music education have looked at this conflict between the music educator’s identities as musician versus teacher. Roberts (1990) found that many undergraduate students reported identity conflicts between their roles as performer, musician, and teacher. Even though they were all in teacher training programs, these students more readily identified themselves as musicians, rather than as performers or teacher candidates (Roberts, 1990).

In a study of four high school music teachers, Scheib (2003) found issues of role conflicts, role overloads, underutilization of skills and resource inadequacy among the subjects. Among the issues for these teachers, they felt unduly burdened with insipid administrative tasks (resource inadequacy), had an overwhelming level of professional duties that impeded on their personal life (role conflict, role overload), and exhibited tension caused by the busy (and conflicting) schedules of their students (resource inadequacy).

In another study, Scheib (2004) found school band directors who were at risk of leaving the profession cited issues related to an incompatability between their expectations and the realities of their work life. Included among the director's complaints were feelings of inadequate financial compensation for the level of work performed, the perception of music education's low-level of value within their school's curriculum, and the low status of teaching as a career.

Hoffer (1982), in a survey of music teachers’ attitudes, also found that although the teachers who responded felt strongly about the worth of music education in the schools, they felt that society at large did not share their view. In addition, secondary school teachers particularly felt they were (unfortunately) “more in the business of entertainment than education” (Hoffer, 1982, p. 60).

Other studies have looked at university faculty and their conflicting roles as teacher and scholar (e.g., Mooney, 1991). Harman (1989) looked


at these tensions (and others), and concluded that institutions that are more understanding of these tensions are more likely to resolve conflicts. In a study of community college faculty, Corbin (1998) found general role satisfaction among the participants, although white women and black men reported more role conflicts than did others.

Novotny (1981) studied the “artist” in the university faculty setting. She looked for conflict or congruence in the three primary roles of the faculty artist: teacher, researcher, and faculty member. Novotny (1981) found that in comparison to other non-practicing artist faculty members (as well as performing artists) within the humanities, the “artist-makers” experienced much more role conflict and stress in confronting the three primary roles. Conflicts occurred between the different values of the artist and scholar as well as a failure to reward artists for their art (Novotny, 1981). Summary

Research has shown that role stressors contribute significantly and negatively to the teacher’s professional life. In addition to job dissatisfaction and occupational stress (e.g., Capel, 1992; Jenkins & Calhoun, 1991; Lutz & Maddirala, 1990; Scheib, 2003; Starnaman & Miller, 1992; Thompson et al., 1997) role stress has been shown to create anxiety (e.g., Capel, 1992), lack of commitment (e.g., Billingsley & Cross, 1992), insecurities (e.g., Amey, 1990), emotional exhaustion and depersonalization (e.g., Crane & Iwanicki, 1986), feelings of futility (e.g., Amey, 1990), and a propensity to leave the profession of teaching (e.g., Billingsley & Cross, 1992; Gonzalez, 1995; Scheib, 2003).

Since boundary positions (e.g., occupations that hold positions between organizations or systems) are more susceptible to role stress (Fisher & Gitelson, 1983; Jackson & Schuler, 1985; Kahn et al., 1964; Russell, 1998), certain teaching and administrative positions are more likely to exhibit role tension than others. Research has not only shown that administrators can be prone to role stress, but also other boundary positions such as the teacher-coach (e.g., Figone, 1994; Locke & Massengale, 1978; Massengale, 1981) and the music educator (Scheib, 2003).

Solutions provided to help alleviate role stress include utilizing a more appropriate teacher role-identity model throughout pre-serviced music teacher socialization, along with ongoing in-service support for the embedded musician-performer identity of many school music teachers (Scheib, 2006b). As well, understanding and/or solving ideological differences between school music teachers and their respective educational stakeholder role sets has also been proposed to help circumvent role tension and improve overall job satisfaction (Scheib, 2006a).


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